Alternative Tale: Naruto The Storm Flash
by DoTheBartMan
Summary: There was no Nine Tail attack, no Coup, Minato Namikaze showed his talent and quelled all hostility between the Uchiha Clan and the Village, his desire for a united Village inspired many and his reign as Hokage has never been more secure. However in his absence Naruto has developed his own dislike of the village and Kushina fears it will drive him away. Rated M Strong/smart Naruto
1. Chapter 1

**I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR ITS CHARACTERS, I Own THIS STORY AND ANY CHARACTER I CREATE.**

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 **So since they showed those fillers about Naruto's life if his parents never died I've had this story in the back of my head, there where parts I liked and parts I didn't like. So this will be how I would have done it...kind of, I'm also adding stuff that would be cool.**

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 **Plot:  
There was no Nine Tail attack, no Coup, Minato Namikaze showed his talent and quelled all hostility between the Uchiha Clan and the Village, his desire for a united Village inspired many and his reign as Hokage has never been more secure. However in his absence Naruto has developed his own dislike of the village and Kushina fears it will drive him away.**

* * *

 **So here are the details**

 **Canon pairings**

 **Itachi X Izumi (Minor) disliked how they changed it in the anime from the novel; I like the Idea of this pair**

 **Shisui X someone (Do you have a pairing for him) someone from the leaf**

 **Storm Release/Flying Raijin Naruto prodigy Naruto, he won't be overpowered but he will be stronger than his age group. I was going to give him Wood Release but I figured it was over used by now.**

 **Less loner type Sasuke as the chapters develop**

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 **And finally those who are about to review asking if I am continuing "A Fresh Start", I am working on the next chapter but am struggling because the Tartaros Arc doesn't appeal to me.**

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 **Chapter 1: Team 7  
** _ **Namikaze Naruto**_

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It was a hot summer day in the Village Hidden in the Leaves; the time had the sun beaming in through the windows of the Hokage mansion. _"The Graduation Ceremony is in an hour"_ Minato thinks, his son was graduating today, joint top of the class with Sasuke of the Uchiha clan and Itachi's little brother. _"I'll have to finish these teams later"_ he thinks standing up and placing his Hokage hat on and heading out to meet with Kushina and Naruto.

"Yondaime a moment" he pauses seeing Danzo approach; he's never trusted Danzo from the moment he met him. "I was wondering when you would be sending the files of the students being brought into Root to my office" the elder asks.

When Fugaku was ignored in favour of himself as Forth Hokage and the Uchiha had expressed desire about cutting ties from the leaf, Danzo pushed to have then executed as traitors and so their Sharingan from falling into enemy villages. This act almost came to flourish until Fugaku himself came to meet and discuss new terms.

 _-_-Flashback_

" _Absolutely not!" Danzo protested, "Your clan has earned these restrictions for a reason!" he declared, true the Uchiha had always been standoffish and the Second Hokage's distrust of their clan along with their role as the Villages Police had made the Villagers distrust the clan as a whole._

" _We have served the Village's interest for decades, we have allowed you to spy on our clan even our most intimate moments" Fugaku begins "And we've accepted it with the goal of having a more impactful role within the villages politics" he stares right at Minato "But we now know that we will always be seen as outsiders...if you truly wish for us to remain, at least give us our privacy, you don't spy on the Hyuga or Nara clan" he adds, behind him stood his son Itachi, he wanted his son to see how the elders treat their clans to prepare him for when he is clan head._

" _There is a reason; your clan has tried usurping power before, you act in your own self interest and care nothing for the future of This Village" Danzo states, he tried for years to get Uchiha into his foundation, but thanks to the Hiruzen The Uchiha governed themselves and thus where immune to the ideology of clans giving up a child to ROOT._

" _When we try to extend an olive branch you slap it away and make demands, well no more, I am making the demands" Fugaku crosses his arms._

" _Lord Forth, what is your take on these matters" Hiruzen asks, the other councillors were about to make their opinions known but the former Kage knew they agreed with Danzo. It was up to Minato to make the right call._

" _Fugaku...I consider us friends, Mikoto has helped Kushina with the trials of pregnancy in ways I could never do" he begins with a personal not "I agree that it's been a long rough relationship between your clan and this village, it's time we bring an end to the hostility" he says with a serious expression "As of this moment all cameras within the Uchiha Compound will be deactivated" he begins ignoring the protests from his advisors "However if you want to become involved in the politics of the village you must surrender the Uchiha's right to govern its own...our choices should effect all who call the village home" he says and Fugaku nods. "If you all agree to these conditions then I call the meeting" Minato pauses as Danzo speaks up._

" _If The Uchiha are coming into the inner folds of the village then by village rights the clan must hand over a child for the Root OP" the elder man smirks slightly "This is your son am I right?" he asks eying the boy "I have heard he is already a Genin despite being so young" his eyes flash a look at the leader of the Uchiha clan "I would accept him under these terms" he finishes as Fugaku activates his Sharingan in anger._

" _How dare you!" he growls putting his son firmly behind him "Itachi is the future of the Uchiha, I will give you no child from my clan. We are not the Nara, Aburame or Yamanaka!" he states_

" _Then the situation does not change" Danzo says firmly "This response clearly shows the Uchiha are hiding something Lord Forth and must not be trusted" he says and Fugaku realizes he has been played, Danzo knew how he would respond and acted accordingly._

" _That initiative only applies during war" Minato says "Lord Fugaku's anger is that of a father protecting his son" he states suprising both "I have only just become a father myself so I understand this and will not punish him for it" he turns to Danzo "Have you been using the Root OP initiative to take children from the clans of this village?" he asks and Danzo shrinks slightly._

" _The need for strong Shinobi will always be high, in times of peace we must gather our forces in preparation for when war inevitably breaks out" Danzo begins "Shinobi like yourself Minato are once on a lifetime but the majority of Shinobi are common at best, my Root agents will carry out any task without fail, they don't look for fame or glory...protecting this village is their only objective" he states._

" _And they would kill every person who lives here to protect its secrets" Minato adds having dealt with Root before during the war. "Tomorrow morning I want a full listing of all the children you have taken, they will be returned to their clans along with a personally apology from you" Minato says and Danzo glares "Failure to do so will result in you being exiled from this village and placed in the Bingo book"_

" _Of course Lord Forth" Danzo says excusing himself, defeated...for now._

 _Flashback End_-__

Minato made his way to the academy, greeting a few villagers on his way. Spotting his wife was easy, he could spot her beautiful red hair from anywhere...plus she had Ibiki in a headlock.

"Don't ask such personal questions again!" she says as the stunned audience tried to ignore the petite red head choke out the scariest looking man in the village.

"K-Kushina" Minato says and in a startled yelp she drops the man to the floor "What's going on?"

"N-Nothing, just a personal disagreement" She says with pink cheeks from getting caught in the act, soon after the other parents arrived and the ceremony began. Each student waited for their name to be called, "I think they called out the top student's last right?" she asks and Minato nods. "Hinata Hyuga" Kushina smiles, "She's the girl who stalks our son" she points "It's adorable" she squeals.

"Naruto doesn't know?" he asks

"Naruto doesn't care" she sighs

"Sakura Haruno!" the pink haired student walks onto the stage nervously, _"I didn't expect to get so embarrassed"_ she thinks looking back seeing the top male students awaiting their turn. _"Sasuke is staring in my general direction!"_ She mentally sequels, accepting her certificate and Head band she walks off stage and joins her class.

"Sasuke Uchiha!" The cool and composed Uchiha makes his way onto the stage, he steals a glance and sees only his father and mother in the crowd _"Must still be on a mission"_ he thinks before accepting his headband and Certificate and joining the class.

"Naruto Namikaze!" Kushina cheers loudly as her son takes his place center stage "Our boy looks so handsome and strong!" she says tugging on Minato's sleeve "I bet he is as fast as you" she says picking up a rock.

"Don't risk it, it's his big day and we don't want to ruin it" Minato tries to stop her from doing what she was about to do but the proud mother was having none of it, in her eyes Naruto would catch the stone with ease, even while distracted and hands full.

She hurled to stone as hard as she could _"Show them how amazing you are Naruto!"_ she beams, her big smile turns to horror as the stone collides with the side of her sons head causing him to drop his Certificate and Headband. Time slows as Kushina contemplates her mistake _"OH MY GOD WHAT HAVE DONE! I'VE KILLED HIM, WHAT WAS I THINKING? I JUST HAD TO DO-"_ the horror of the moment turns to confusion as Naruto disappears in a puff of smoke "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT STONE made !?"

"It wasn't the stone...it was a **Shadow Clone** " Minato says gaining everyone's attention "Similar to the Clone Jutsu except it makes a solid clone" he explains _"But...where is the real Naruto?"_ He thinks

* * *

 **The Forest**

* * *

Naruto looks back at the village and sighs _"Mom...you are too much sometimes"_ he thinks turning back to the boards, he knew he would have to answer for skipping the ceremony but he didn't see the need to go, it was a waste of time. He forms the Hand signs **Rat, Tiger, Dog, snake, and Dragon** " **Ranton: Reizā Sākasu** " he unleashing a barrage of beams into the targets destroying them.

"As expected from the Yondaime's son" Naruto looks up to see to Uchiha staring at him, one was Shisui "the Body Flicker" and the other was Itachi "The Crow". "Skipping your graduation ceremony...sound familiar Itachi?" Shisui smirks as Itachi stares at the blond boy who was the spitting image of Minato.

 _-_-Flashback_

 _Once the other elders left leaving the meeting leaving Minato Fugaku and Itachi alone..._

" _Thank you Yondaime" Fugaku bows "I allowed that man to get under my skin" he says and Minato smiles slightly._

" _Believe it or not he does mean well, he truly wants peace...but he is from a different era where peace and control where the same thing" Minato says and faces Itachi "I've heard a lot about you from the academy Itachi" he says and the young Uchiha looks at the blonde nervously. "They said you graduated in two months?"_

" _My boy is a true prodigy, like none I've ever seen, I dare say he will surpass even you lord Forth" Fugaku boasts and Minato laughs slightly._

" _Then I have a mission for you Itachi" Minato says getting to eye level with the boy  
"What is it?" Itachi asks innocently  
"protect this village and the future generations" he says and Itachi nods  
"I will"_

 _Flashback end_-__

Itachi could see Naruto wasn't like his father, that day Minato inspired him to rise to the rank of Hokage one day. Naruto skipped the ceremony because it didn't appeal to him. "Your father wants to see you" he says and Naruto scoffs drawing a **Raijin** Kunai and tossing it into the forest.

"If his highness wants to talk let him come find me" Naruto says smirking "Still I'm surprised you Uchiha can climb trees" he says confusing them "The way Sasuke goes on about how oppressed your clan is I thought you were all nailed to the ground" he states and Shisui laughs slightly.

"Maybe we left those shoes at home so we would be able to keep up with you...like father like son" Shisui says forming the **Tiger, Dog and Rat** hand signs and Naruto smirks.

"Smart" was the only word uttered as Naruto scattered many marked Kunai around the area and Shisui summoned 15 afterimage clones.

It was only because of the Sharingan Itachi could keep up with the two sparring, _"Naruto is as strong as I expected"_ he thinks _"But speed on its own isn't enough to beat Shisui"_ he says.

Shisui begins using his clones to travel to each Kunai destroying them as Naruto appears, doing so to corner the blonde...or so he thought as he reached the very first Kunai he threw on its own, he knew the boy planned to use it as his escape but he was taken back when the Kunai had actually been rigged, he was too close to dodge as Senbon scattered all over the area pinning the wildlife in place.

Naruto appeared in front of Itachi holding one Kunai left "Are you called crow because you can fly?" he asks and Itachi hops down.

"You are indeed skilled, I see why Sasuke considers you a rival, however like Sasuke you have one fatal flaw" Itachi says and before he can ask what Shisui chops him on the back of the neck causing his body to go limp as he passes out. "You let your guard down" he says to his fellow Uchiha.

"Yeah..." Shisui agrees picking the Senbon from his arm "Had this been a fight to the death" he begins but Itachi cuts him off.

"You would have taken him seriously" Itachi states pulling one of the Senbon from his friends back "That attack was clever" he admits "But something like that would but his team in danger too"

"I heard Naruto is the only person who scored lower than Sasuke when it came to team assignments" Shisui says picking the boy up "It'll be interesting to see who he gets teamed up with"

"Interesting indeed"

 **_Namikaze household_**

"Do you know how worried I was?" Kushina asks with her hands on her hips "and how disrespectful it is to your classmates?" she begins pacing; Minato had decided to take a step back and wait for Naruto to derail his mother with a single sentence.

"Who throws a stone at the child's head intentionally?" he asks and Minato prepares to step in as his beloved wife begins to fumble for a rebuttal.

"What your mother is trying to say is now you are a Shinobi" Minato begins seeing his son look at him first before the Headband on his lap, "Those who graduated with you will be who you go on missions with, whose lives with be in your hands, and whose hands will hold your life" he sits beside his son and Kushina takes the other side "From today on the training wheels are off, you are by all accounts an adult, the safety of this village is in your hands" he looks at Kushina.

"As strong as you are you can't do everything alone and even if you could you shouldn't" Kushina says softly combing Naruto's hair "I want you to make friends and fill your room with pictures of a happy life" she says and he looks at the headband again with more of a thoughtful look.

" _Team, friends, safety of the village huh?"_

* * *

 **The Academy**

* * *

The graduates where in a room away from those repeating, today they would be paired into teams of three and be assigned Jonin instructors. Naruto and Sasuke sat beside one another like always, "I heard you picked a fight with members of my clan Namikaze" Sasuke says "And you got creamed" he smirks

"It took your brother, and a famous elite to bring down a graduate from the academy" Naruto yawns "Your clan must be so proud" he says sarcastically as Sasuke glares.

"If you think they took you serious then you are deluded" Sasuke retorts as Iruka comes in quelling the chatter.

"Congratulations to you all, you are now Genin, while the lowest rank a Shinobi holds it is the start to what will hopefully be a long successful career" he begins "However as you are all inexperienced you will be paired into groups of 3 under the command of a Jonin Sensei" he says suprising a few of the none clan Genin, but as expected the clan remembered Genin where aware. Three by three Genin where called out and ushered from the room by their Jonin, soon he got to team 7 "Sasuke Uchiha" he calls out and the Raven haired Genin stands up, "Sakura Haruno" he says and the pink haired Kunoichi jumps to her feet celebrating "and Naruto Namikaze" the whole room goes silent as Naruto stands up "Your Jonin is late so you can wait here" he finishes.

Soon all the names had been called and teams dispersed, leaving the three to wait "I wonder where this guy is" Sakura says sitting as close as possible to Sasuke who sighed at her slightly, "Who knows, maybe it's a test, he wants to see how long we wait for him" she suggests.

"That's stupid" Sasuke says "We could be training or something, instead we are just wasting time" he adds and Naruto heads for the door.

"Then there's only one solution" he says opening the door, only to be greeted by a familiar yet covered face "Kakashi...you're our Sensei?" he asks.

"Good to see you are as patient as ever Naruto" Kakashi says and looks at the clock seeing he is two hours late "Or...oops" he coughs "Anyway head up to the roof and we will continue there" he disappears in a cloud of smoke.

 **_The Roof_**

"How did we beat him up here?" Sakura asks stunned, he had disappeared again "Is this guy for real?" she taps her foot.

"I'd like to think so" she hears Kakashi say, he was hold some groceries "Anyway I'd like for you all to introduce yourselves and tell us a little something about yourself" he says. "Well can you go first, maybe give us an example?" he hears Sakura ask, "Fair enough, my name is Kakashi Hatake, have hobbies and dreams, none of which matter to you" he says and Sakura sweat drops. "You first pink" he says and Sasuke clears her throat.

"My name is Sakura Haruno, There is someone I like" she glances at Sasuke who seems oblivious "I hope to marry him and maybe start a family" she says blushing at her Uchiha teammate.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha, There are many people and things that annoy me, and very few things that I like" he begins "I want to surpass my brother as Heir to the Uchiha clan Head" he says and Kakashi looks at Naruto.

"My name in Naruto Namikaze, I don't have any dream...I like training and Ramen" he says simply and Kakashi nods.

"Good, bring your gear to Training Ground 7 at dawn, make sure not to eat any breakfast" Kakashi says and disappears leaving the trio alone.

"See you tomorrow" Naruto says waving the two off, he decided to be nice to whoever he was paired with...and of course it was with Sasuke and one of his fan girls.

"Yeah...it will be interesting to see how you fight without restrictions" Sasuke says turning and leaving.

"W-What does he mean?" Sakura asks worriedly and Naruto looks at her with a bemused expression, she had only just realized that he meant sparring; it was likely Kakashi would be testing their abilities to see where they would need to focus. She was good at moulding Chakra, and she could hit the target with a Kunai, but she never really trained outside of school and now she was on a team with the strongest students in the school.

"See yeah tomorrow Sakura" Naruto says "Remember not to eat breakfast" he smirks seeing her pail before running off to prepare, _"She'll be fun to torment"_ he thinks, _"Kakashi must have quit ANBU if he's taking a Genin team"_ he walks down the main street of Konoha and he smirks.

" _Interesting"_

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 **The End**

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 **Hope you like this pilot, I hope to focus on this while building myself up to work on my other stories, so make sure you let me know what you think, it will follow a similar path as "Naruto Namikaze" if you have read that story before.**

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 **Till Next Time**

* * *

 _ **~DoTheBartMan**_


	2. Chapter 2

**I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR ITS CHARACTERS, I OWN THIS STORY AND ANY CHARACTER I CREATE.**

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 **Glad people liked the first chapter but for the Guest who called me out for "trolling"**

 **Never read any of** devilzxknight86's **stories**

 **Never heard of his challenge either**

 **Ranton is the official Rōmaji which I use in my stories**

 **I don't care for his challenge I have better things to do**

 **I did say Naruto would be different, and I also said I'm using CANON pairings**

 **And finally don't accuse people of trolling when you don't know what that means (I recommend you look in a mirror to see a troll)**

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 **Anyway YES Naruto will be a little OOC, his character has been altered by the fact his parents are alive.**

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 **Pairing News:**

 **If you read my Naruto Namikaze Story you know I had Kakashi marry Rin and together they have children. I want to know from you guys if you'd like that to be in this story too or if you want someone else to be paired with him.**

 **Also I am still looking for Ideas for a pairing with Shisui**

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 **Anyway enjoy!**

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 **Chapter 2: Bell Test  
** _ **Teamwork**_

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Once home Naruto picked up his bag filled with his gear, _"I'll get some training in before I get some Ichiraku"_ he thinks, he contemplated changing into his Shinobi attire, the material was stronger and suited for missions. _"Nah, save them for tomorrow"_ he thinks looking at his simple Orange T-shirt and Black pants, tying a small pouch to his right thigh and tying his Forehead protector around his forehead combing his fringe slightly so it wouldn't be under the cloth, he smirks heading out the front door.

"Your dinner is just ready!" Kushina calls holding a pot which she was stirring, "You can train after" she adds but he ignores her heading for the door.

"I'll eat while I'm out" he says closing the door causing her to sigh, Minato contemplated going after him...double fold when he saw how close Kushina was to breaking that wooden spoon in her hand. However he knew Naruto would only come back if he was made too.

"Naruto has always been independent Kushina, ever since he first learned to walk he has been going at his own pace" Minato says "Now that he is a Genin he has a tonne of responsibility, you can't baby him forever" he smiles and she flashes him a look that says "The hell I can't". "Let's give him some space for now until he figures out a routine" he suggests and she sighs.

"Yeah, you're right" she slumps in defeat before heading back into the kitchen "It feels like Naruto doesn't even need me anymore...for anything you know?" she says and Minato care hear the shakiness in her breath, he quickly hugged her from behind "Sorry I know he's growing up...but can't he just be our son a little longer?"

"He'll always be our son, nothing will change that and I have the cast that I wore when you broke my wrist during labour to prove it" he jokes earning a small but affectionate laugh.

 **_The Uchiha Compound_**

"I do love the pork from that Restaurant" Shisui says with a happy sigh from eating his fill, "Still I am amazed there is a student like Naruto, he should of graduated a long time before today" he says rubbing the band-aids on his arm.

"Times of war cause students to graduate earlier, he was fortunate, being skilled in school and battle ready are two different mindsets" Itachi says seeing his little brother training in the field not far from their house "Still being on the same team as Sasuke will benefit them both" he says and the older Uchiha nods.

"Itachi. Uchiha!" they both halt at the tone of a new female voice, standing behind them hands on hips was Izumi Uchiha, Chunin and member of the Police force. "Aren't you forgetting something?" she asks and Itachi looks away thinking back.

"...I must be" he says and she almost loses her balance in shock at his casual admittance "Was it about your promotion trial?" he asks and she nods.

"You said you'd help me prepare" she states and he glances at Shisui who laughs

"Such a heartbreaker Itachi" the teleported says patting his friend on the back "Enjoy your date" he teases and Izumi turns to him.

"Be careful not to challenge any more Genin, one might actually score a decisive blow" she retorts stunning him slightly she winks at him victoriously.

"Great the whole village knows I almost lost to a rookie" he sighs, "Shisui" he turns to see Sasuke calling him "Congrats on becoming a Genin and Sasuke nods, "What's up?" he asks.

"I need help training, you use teleporting like the Hokage and Naruto" Sasuke says and Shisui nods, easier to nod than explain the differences "Can I spar with you, I need to tune my Sharingan to be able to follow you when you teleport" he explains.

" _He's practising to face Naruto...but Naruto's speed is only part of his ability"_ Shisui thinks _"I could warn him but seeing Naruto in action will teach him more than I could by telling him"_ he smiles "Let's go then, this will help you with more than teleportation" he says leading Sasuke to a training field.

 **_Team 7 Training Ground_**

Naruto stood in the center of the lake focusing his charka, he had been classed as a Sensory type Shinobi during his first year but rarely practised with it, however he could feel the Chakra of everyone in the village, along with two signatures close to him _"Hinata and Sakura are watching me huh?"_ He thinks deciding to ignore them for now. _"Time for a little dual Ninjutsu practise"_ he thinks forming the **Tiger** , **Snake** , **Rat** , **Snake** , and **Tiger** Hand Signs " **Suiton: Suijinheki no Jutsu** " water is blown out from the mouth, and is raised from below with tremendous might, the water is blown out in the form of a circle around the user. The attack had become stronger thanks to the water from the lake, while continuing the Jutsu he forms the **Monkey** , **Ox** , **Boar** , **Tiger** Hand Signs " **Raiso Gekishin** " he releases a discharge of electricity that fires several destructive disks of electricity which follow the flow of the water formation however the attacks don't gel causing an explosion sending the blonde into the air.

"Nope, those two don't work either" he sighs "Still need to study on Lightning style" he lands beside the lake "I should get something to eat" he places his hand on his stomach _"Guess they aren't interested in talking to me"_ he shrugs before heading off.

 **_Hinata and Sakura_**

"Both Naruto and Sasuke are training for tomorrow...I need to do something as well" Sakura says "Hinata...why are you watching him" she asks fully expecting Hinata to ask her too.

"Naruto knows we were watching" she says surprising the pink haired girl "Naruto has a huge shadow in the form of his father, Lord Forth is a well renowned and feared Shinobi...yet Naruto trains without letting it get to him" the Hyuga says "I wish I could be like that" she says but Sakura doesn't understand.

* * *

 **The Following morning**

* * *

True to his order, none of the Genin had eaten breakfast and the signs of hunger were obvious on all three. Sasuke and Sakura's Shinobi clothing matched what they wore for school, however Naruto's was completely different, he now wore a black sleeveless shirt with the Uzumaki crest on the back, a long-sleeved Orange under armor shirt with a high collar, his forearms and calves were taped, he had ANBU type shin pads covering most of his legs under the knee cap and bracelets on his wrists. He wore black shorts, attached to his left leg was a small pouch containing some Ninja tools.

"So Sasuke, get any good training in?" Naruto asks and the Uchiha nods, "Sakura did you learn anything from watching me train?" he smirks and she shakes her head.

"She was watching you too?" Sasuke asks and Sakura further slumps "If you needed pointers you should have asked, who knows what Kakashi will be throwing at us" he says and Sakura is taken back by his comment.

"Very noble Sasuke" they hear Kakashi call to them "But in hindsight you'll be glad she didn't because you see the goal of this test is to obtain one of these" he says flashing two bells "Of course one of you will fail" he adds and Naruto can feel the smirk behind the mask.

"And what happens to the person who doesn't get a bell?" Sasuke asks and Kakashi attaches them to his belt, "Or if none of us can get one?" he adds.

"Well the person who fails to get a bell will be sent back to the Academy for another year, however if none of you get a bell by lunch then all of you return to the Academy" he says seeing all three suddenly feel the pressure "So if you want this bell you better come at me like you want to kill me" he says and the three disappear into the trees to plan their attacks.

Kakashi takes out his copy of Make Out Tactics and begins reading _"I know that book...someone actually reads it?"_ Naruto thinks with a disgusted look on his face,he hears the sound of several Shuriken slice through the air towards the Jonin but he jumps up over them but sees Sasuke's foot swing towards his head.

" _Fast"_ Kakashi comments but manages to block the attack, Sasuke lands on his hands spinning his hip which then brings his free leg in forcing Kakashi to grab it, after Sasuke leaps up to grab a bell knowing Kakashi's hands are to occupied and the angle makes it impossible to use his legs to fend off his attempt to grab one, Kakashi used Sasukes Momentum to throw him up into the air before delivering a kick that sends him flying back into a tree. "Impressive work Sasuke you came close on your first try" Kakashi praises the young Uchiha.

" _No time to conserve Chakra at this point"_ Sasuke thinks forming the **Snake** , **Ram** , **Monkey** , **Boar** , **Horse** , and **Tiger** hand signs while inhaling " **Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu** " he exhales a fire ball of medium size impressing Kakashi as he lunges out of the way before disappearing underground. _"I can see him with my!"_ he is cut off as a pair of hands grab his ankles before pulling him underground leaving only his head exposed.

"You are skilled Sasuke but you lack a fundamental trait to succeed" Kakashi begins but is cut off by the Raijin Kunai _"Naruto's next"_ he raises his fists as Naruto appears out of nowhere driving a kick into his forearms sending him back before throwing three Kunai into the ground where he landed.

" _Already working on his plan from watching Sasuke's attempt...if Naruto had a Sharingan he would be even more formidable"_ he thinks seeing three Shadow Clones appear at each Kunai preparing the same attack which surprises him more _"So he does have one"_

" **Ranton: Reizā Sākasu no Jutsu** " the three clones says unleashing the powerful Jutsu in a pincer like attack.

"Naruto has a Kekkei Genkai!?" Sasuke is left stunned as he had a first row seat to the revelation, however both Genin are surprised to see a dome shaped wall where Kakashi had landed.

"Naruto beneath you" Sasuke warns and in a flash Naruto is gone as Kakashi came up from underground.

"Why did you warn him?" he asks curiously, could Sasuke be on to the true intentions of this test. He had been placed in charge of a team and each time they all acted independently, and threw each other under just to get a head and even resorted to attacking one another, he sent every team he has been placed in charge of back to the academy and they have all quit being Shinobi. Yet now an Uchiha was the first person to act in the aid of his teammate, _"Perhaps there are more Uchiha like Obito"_ he thinks.

"Who knows, I'd rather see you taken down a peg over Naruto ending up like me" Sasuke says, _"I guess this is a team test...hopefully you can figure it out Naruto"_ he thinks looking in the direction Naruto had appeared.

 **_Naruto and Sakura_**

"A team test?" she asks and he nods "Now it makes sense, two bells would throw us off and act on our own...but doing so right after pairing us up makes no sense" she says and he nods.

"Sasuke did his part and passed" Naruto says, by simply warning him Sasuke showed he could swallow his pride and help another progress even if it meant failing. "it's your job to get the bells" Naruto says suprising "My first attack had a second motive, I placed my mark on his arm" Naruto says "Now I can teleport to his side with the bells" he says and she nods "However he will be expecting me to have done so and will be prepared to counter, so instead I will distract him and my clone will teleport you beside him once I have his arms pinned" he says.

"What happens if it doesn't work?" she asks and Naruto simply creates a clone "I won't let you down" she says and he nods pulling out two Kunai and running towards Kakashi.

" _Naruto is making his move...seems like he's left Sakura behind"_ Kakashi sighs, he was aware Naruto likely tagged him at some point _"Sakura...what is your goal by waiting...you can't get a bell watching"_ he thinks and his eyes widen realizing their plan " **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu** " he says forming the clone hand sign.

"Damn he figured it out" Naruto says tossing a kunai beside Sasuke as Sakura appears behind Kakashi like planned but Kakashi's clone quickly prevented her from taking the bells. But before she could be taken the clone teleported her away while Naruto took Sasuke...

" _All in the matter of a few seconds...Naruto is as fast as his father"_ Kakashi smiles, in truth they had all passed his test in a way but he decided to see if they would cement his believe that they were his team.

 **_Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura_**

"By charging in alone he figured I would teleport Sakura behind him and created a clone" Naruto scratches his chin "I have another plan that might work" he says and Sasuke leans in to give his take.

"Kakashi is too battle experienced for sneak attacks, Itachi told me he worked under Kakashi during his ANBU days so Kakashi is highly skilled at stealth" he begins "All three of us need to charge him in order to lower his guard"

"Luckily I have some Kunai...it's the only training I could do on my own" Sakura admits and the two alpha like Genin look at her.

"Then here me out" Naruto begins "You have Lightning nature Chakra too right?" he turns to Sasuke who nods "Then I'll give you a Jutsu that will catch him off" he says and Sasuke nods turning to Sakura.

"Have your Kunai ready" to which she nods

 **_Kakashi_**

" _Here comes Naruto"_ Kakashi sees Naruto with two clones which run either side of him while Sakura and Sasuke run from the opposite direction _"Naruto must have used one of his old Kunai to teleport them behind me...clever"_ he thinks forming to clones to catch the two behind him "You are quite the traction Naruto but I've been trained by Minato-Sensei too so I know all the Jutsu you do" he says and Naruto smirks.

"I'm not my father" Naruto says as his clones prepare Kekkei Genkai but before they launch they switch places with Sasuke and Sakura suprising him as his own clones are blasted away, Naruto tosses a normal Kunai towards Kakashi with the intent of making Kakashi turn to Sasuke which he did.

Sasuke already formed the **Ram** , **Horse** , **Snake** , and **Tiger** hand signs " **Raiton: Raigen Raikōchū** " he says and Kakashi tries to cover as a blinding light takes him.

" _Genjutsu"_ he thinks hearing the ping of the bells he goes to grab them but feels they are gone, once out of the Genjutsu he sees it was Sakura had thrown a Kunai which she managed to cut the threads holding the bells which felling into Naruto's hand after he teleported behind him. _"All in the matter of a few seconds again, Naruto can quickly analyze a situation and formulate a plan and a back up...truly a genius"_ he says "Looks like you figured it out" he says and the three nod "A time may come on a mission where you may be forced to choose between the goal and your comrade" he begins "Those who abandon a mission are scum...but those who abandon a comrade are worse than scum, I don't want a team of Genin who will look out for only themselves" he crosses his arms "You three have shown that when push comes to shove you will band together and as a result you completed the mission" he pauses "However you did run out of time" he smirks "So by the rules" he begins but Naruto interrupts.

"I'll tell my mom you where reading Jiraiya's book" Naruto crosses his arms and Kakashi turns completely white.

"Congratulations you all passed!" he changes his tone rather quickly and the three Genin high five in celebration _"Rule one...Never piss off Kushina"_ he swear drops

* * *

 **In the village**

* * *

"I'm glad we passed" Sakura says standing between the two boys, "Although I wasn't much help" she says looking a little sad "You guys are amazing though" she looks at Naruto "I've never seen a Kekkei Genkai before" she says and Naruto shrugs.

"I was lucky, the Uchiha are all born with one" Naruto says and Sasuke smirks slightly "Still glad it helped" he yawns "Who is up for Ramen?" he asks and Sasuke shrugs having nothing better to do.

"Sure, not like I've eaten yet anyway" Sasuke looks at Sakura "We should help you form a training routine" he says suprising her "It's too late for you to train to be able to fight beside us but perhaps we can figure a better skill for you to learn and help the team in another way"

"Like what?" she asks as they enter the restaurant taking a seat, she never gave much of a thought on what kind of a Kunoichi she would be. Sasuke comes from the most powerful clan in the village while Naruto is the son of the strongest Shinobi in the village, each had Jutsu they inherited but her parents where only Genin level too, both retired due to lack of skill and now she would likely follow them if she wasn't careful. It was Naruto that caught her attention "He's talking about Medical Ninjutsu" he states and Sasuke nods.

"In the Academy you scored a perfect score in Chakra control" Sasuke begins, in fact she even scored higher than Naruto and Sasuke himself "So the best option that will benefit the team is for you is to become a medic" he looks at her.

"Medical Ninjutsu...but that will take time for me to study" she says "And we will be starting missions tomorrow" she explains and Naruto scoffs.

"You'll have plenty of time" Naruto says crossing his arms "I've heard that Genin get chores as missions at the beginning so you'll have plenty of time" he looks over his shoulder seeing Kakashi heading to the Hokage Tower now. "If I know my father it won't matter how strong we get... _he's a coward"_ he thinks the last part not to sully his father in public.

"Anyway pick up a Medical book on the way how and read it through" Sasuke says almost ordering Sakura who nods. They then order their food while talking casually about other stuff, for the first time since she met them...she could see deep down they were normal boys.

" _I promise to do my part"_ she thinks seeing them bicker over something trivial before laughing lightly

 **_The Hokage's Office_**

"So they passed with flying colours" Minato asks slightly surprised and Kakashi nods, "I'm glad I made you his mentor Kakashi" Minato says and Kakashi steps forward.

"He is already strong enough to apply for the Chunin Exams, and by the time they are here I believe Sasuke will be ready as well" Kakashi begins "and from what I heard at Ichiraku's Sakura will be attempting to learn Medical Ninjutsu, it's amazing how fast they clicked" he states.

"They all have something to prove" Minato says, it was the key reason he paired them all up "Like Naruto, Sakura is not from a Shinobi Clan, however Naruto is a genius in both written and practical Jutsu, she needs to prove more so to herself she can become a top Shinobi" he begins "Sasuke in a way is like Obito, coming from The Uchiha clan causes people to expect a lot from him and though his skills and grades are high, they are common when paired with Itachi, he needs to show he is more than Itachi's little brother" he pauses looking at a picture of him, Kushina and a younger Naruto all smiling and happy. "Naruto isn't the person who needs to prove anything; rather he is a person who I need to prove myself too" the Hokage sighs.

"I don't follow you Sensei" Kakashi admits, what did Minato have to prove to Naruto, he was aware Minato had faults but never thought it would relate to his family "Is being Hokage having a negative effect on him?" he asks and Minato shakes his head.

"Naruto has a Kekkei Genkai" Minato begins and Kakashi nods "Yeah Storm Release" Minato is surprised to see Kakashi knows but then smiles "So Naruto mastered it on his own after all" the blonde says "You see when I was training Naruto one day he got badly hurt when he attempted to use his Kekkei Genkai, instead of being a teacher I reacted like a father...and in doing so" he pauses

"Made Naruto hate me"

* * *

 **The End**

* * *

 **Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter**

 **In the next chapter we get a brief look at the reason Naruto is so distant with his parents and acts the way he does, also we will have our first small moment between one of the two pairings**

* * *

 **Till Next Time**

* * *

 _ **~DoTheBartMan**_


	3. Chapter 3

**I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR ITS CHARACTERS, I OWN THIS STORY AND ANY CHARACTERS I CREATE.**

* * *

 **Thanks to everyone who reviewed, keep them coming**

* * *

 **Remember that this is only the third chapter, I won't be revealing everything about the relationship between Naruto and his parents, this is simply a single point of view**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Mission Report  
** _ **Prove your skill**_

* * *

 _-_-Flashback_

 _-5 years ago-_

" _Very good Naruto" Minato says seeing his son someone two clones "With this and the speed you are picking up my teleporting techniques I'll be able to retire and let you be Hokage" he says placing his hand on top of the grinning boys head_

" _Do you really think I can be strong like you?" the innocent tone of a boy admiring his father was a sight but Minato was sure Naruto would surpass him._

" _Of course" he says "Let's see what mom is up to and you can show her how strong you are" he says and Naruto suddenly runs in front of him._

" _They were showing us how to determine our Chakra nature today and they said I have two natures, Water and Lightning AND that I have a Kekkei Genkai! You don't have one right?" he asks and it takes Minato a moment to gather all the info he's been dealt before answering._

" _Amazing...If I remember those fuse to become Storm Release" Minato says "I'll see if I can find some way to teach you" he says and Naruto nods enthusiastically. Over the next week Naruto began practising tapping into both Chakra natures at once, the only other Kekkei Genkai user in the Village was an ANBU who used the Firsts Wood Release. The only help he had thought was telling him that he needed to be able to get a nature flowing through each hand separately so that when he formed the Hand Signs the chakra would fuse._

 _Soon enough Naruto had the basic's down, or so they thought, as their simple training routine ended with the screams in horror from Kushina_

 _Naruto's arms where severely burned_

 _Flashback End_-__

"Naruto was in hospital for 8 months recovering" Minato begins "It seems when he tried to fuse the natures together he didn't balance them out and the Jutsu backfired" he thinks back remembering the horror in Kushina's eyes "For a long while the doctors weren't sure if he would have full function in his arms after the accident...if Lady Tsunade hadn't been in the village at the time...Naruto wouldn't be a Shinobi, he be lucky if he could hold a book"

"Then why does he hate you?" Kakashi asks

"The moment he got out he wanted to go back into practising his Kekkei Genkai...rather than try and distract him all I could think about was how it affected Kushina and the thought of it being much worse next time if he failed...so I forbade him from practising it" he says and Kakashi seemed to understand, by outright forbidding Naruto came off the same way as making Naruto think his father did not believe in him. When you believe the person you respect doesn't believe in you it can have a negative effect on a young mind.

"So now Naruto trains alone without asking you for help?" Kakashi asks and Minato nods, if he wasn't Hokage he might try and fix their relationship, but he has missed his chance. "After refusing to help Naruto train in his Kekkei Genkai Naruto would go straight out after school, at first I simply thought he was playing with his friends but soon enough I learned he was training in the forest alone, he stopped asking for my help all together and every report he brought home from school was handed with distain like he didn't want to show me how he was progress" he sighs "And any encouragement I gave seemed like an insult to him" he spins around in his chair to look out the window "And Kushina fell victim by association, Naruto avoids her to prevent interaction with me" he turns back around.

"Children will always rebel, remember how I was? In time Naruto will understands and then you can start to form a connection" Kakashi begins; he hated his younger self for how he handled his father's death. "Now that he is a Shinobi you can show in subtle acts your faith in his abilities, not as only as Hokage but as his father"

"He'll be annoyed with the D Rank Missions but I can't give him preferential treatment" Minato says "We will see what their mind sight is tomorrow" he says putting a few D ranked scrolls on his desk _"Maybe I can figure something to benefit their team training"_ he thinks

 **_Later on at home_**

Unable to ditch dinner again Naruto sat at the opposite side of the table from his parents reading a book on advance Water Style Ninjutsu, _"If Sasuke uses Fire and Lightning, then I'll enhance my Water Style to balance it out"_ he thinks biting down on a leaf of lettuce, _"I hate this_ _bonafide grass but I'm eating too much Ramen lately and need to balance my carbs_ " he glances at his parents who seemed to be talking about their day.

"It's been awhile but having two boys hasn't slowed Mikoto down at all" Kushina says "Though Itachi really is self sufficient, though he always has been" she says with a smile "And Sasuke has grown up into a fine young man himself, quite the heartbreaker I'd say, just like you right Naruto?" she asks turning to the Genin.

"Sure whatever" Naruto says going back to his book _"The hand seals on this one are so complicated...maybe I can work on them tomorrow while my clone does the chores"_ he thinks knowing full well what lay ahead for his team tomorrow.

"I heard that you were teamed with Sakura as well, the pink haired girl from the ceremony" Kushina begins "She was quite cute" she smirks slyly.

"She is also head over heels for Sasuke" he says suprising her "Guess he is the better lady killer" he says with a tone filled with sarcasm. Once finished he stands up closing the book "I'm heading out, I'll be back before midnight" he says and Kushina sighs slightly.

"Maybe you should take a night off, you will be starting your first mission tomorrow" Minato says and Naruto scoffs.

"Send the drop outs on those glorified chores" he says going to the door only to have Kushina grab his wrist.

"Enough, you will not talk down to your father" she says earning a glare "Go to your room, you are grounded" she says and he drops his book, Minato rose from his chair. The utter hostility oozing from Naruto had him on edge.

" _He wouldn't attack her"_ he thinks however all his muscles where ready to intervene, there was a time Kushina would have handled Naruto just fine...however the complications at Naruto's birth caused a great strain on her body forcing her to retire, added that the majority of her Chakra kept the Nine Tails sealed away meaning if Naruto attacked he could seriously hurt her and worse than that cause the Nine Tails to rampage.

"You really have such a low opinion of me...Lord Hokage" he says with venom when uttering Lord Hokage "I would never attack a defenceless woman" he says turning around "Grounded huh...whatever" he says heading to his room.

Once he was gone Minato approached his wife "Are you ok?" he asks, she doesn't answer right away leaning down to pick up the discarded book, he body was shaking and a few tears fell to the floor

"No...I'm not" where the only words she said with a weak whisper

* * *

 **Two days later**

* * *

After an entire morning of more terrible D rank Missions, they took a break to train. While Sakura continued to read her Medical books while practising on small animals, Sasuke began training with a sword, it was Itachi's old Sword which had been mended and shaped to work with Sasuke's height, since he was smaller than Itachi. Meanwhile Naruto had begun training with Water Style, Kakashi sparred with Sasuke since like Itachi he also used to wield a sword from his ANBU days.

" _This is so boring...I want to train like they do"_ she sighs looking at the fish atop the scroll under her glowing green palms, suddenly the fish bursts back to life flopping until back into the lake, all three look at her as she hopes to her feet "I DID IT!" she cheers.

" _In only one day...impressive"_ all three think together, however before she has time to truly celebrate Kakashi places a bird on the scroll "huh?" she looks at him.

"Keep going, don't rest with one success, keeping going until it becomes second nature" Kakashi says and she nods beginning to heal the bird.

Ignoring the other Naruto formed the **Tiger** , **Ox** , **Tiger** , and **Rat** Hand Signs " **Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu** " Naruto expels a large quantity of water in the form of a powerful torrent towards the lake with a lot of force, he forms the hand signs again and repeats the attack to make sure he didn't lose any power.

"Amazing" Sakura says taken back by Naruto, _"He looked angry for the past two days, it seems training like this has cheered him up"_ she thinks with a hint of relief being that today was their first official day as a team, having one of her comrades upset was affecting her ability to focus...not that she wanted to reflect her failings on to Naruto.

"Let's try this one next" he says reading the page, Kakashi was amazed at his ability to learn A Jutsu simply by reading it, most people use those books as a guide AFTER seeing how it's done. Naruto walks onto the lake before he creates the **Tiger** Hand Seal " **Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu** " as a clone is formed by the water around him. _"Using a Shadow Clone and a Water Clone could be useful, but it'll take time to properly gel them into my battle style"_

Sasuke sheathes his sword as Kurenai appears "Kakashi it seems Lord forth has a mission for our squads" she says suprising him.

"A joint mission?" he says "Let's go you three" he turns to his team who nod, "So Kurenai how is your team doing?" he asks to make conversation, they were in the academy together however with everything that happened in the war along with his time in ANBU Kakashi grew apart from his friends and was now only reconnecting with them.

"They are doing fine, Yondaime seemed to make my team specialize in tracking, a member of the Aburame Clan, Inuzuka Clan and Hyuga Clan" she states looking over to Kakashi's team "These three all scored top of the class right?" she asks.

"Yeah, Sensei figured Naruto and Sasuke would grow better alongside each other as rivals, while Sakura would learn more about Shinobi life if she worked alongside the two most powerful Genin"

"Most powerful? Sure they scored top of the class but it's early to tell which team will grow stronger, not to boast but Kiba is a formidable fighter and Shino is a brilliant tactician, and Hinata has excellent control over the Gentle fist" she states.

"Sakura has already begun master Medical Ninjutsu after a single day, Sasuke's visual prowess surpasses many of his clan and his Sharingan haven't fully developed yet, Naruto has shown he is every bit as formidable as his father. As it stands I strongly believe they are Chunin material already" he finishes

"I guess we will find out on the mission, Asuma's team is coming too" she says and Kakashi is taken back, he thought it may be a simple escort mission but now he isn't so sure.

 **_The Hokage tower_**

All Genin where standing in a line in front of their Jonin Sensei, Minato was standing up and in front of his desk, he glanced at Kakashi who nodded "I have heard you are all complaining about the lack of a good challenge" he says and Shikamaru raises his hand saying "I wasn't". "Well you're here by association then" he jokes as the young Nara sighs "Here is a C-rank escort mission" he begins "A Bridge Builder named Tazuna has already paid however he assured me the danger would be minimal" he pauses looking at Naruto "He wants to go home to the Land of Waves" he sees it register with Naruto "While the mission is expected to be a simple straight forward mission it is a prime chance to get you all wet behind the ears in regards travelling from the village to the mission location"

"So all 9 of us and three Jonin...for a simple straightforward" Sasuke crosses his arms, he too looked at Naruto figuring the Hokage was having a secret conversation with his son "Wouldn't one team suffice?"

"Maybe, however the three Jonin will only shadowing you from afar and will only intervene if you can't cope" Minato states, "I have faith you will handle yourselves just fine" he smiles "I will be making Naruto and Sasuke team leaders for this Mission, Naruto knows the rout you will be taking and Sasuke will be his backup" he says with a serious tone and they nod "Naruto you wait, everyone else dismissed" he says and waits until he and Naruto are alone "You know why I made you team leader?" he asks and Naruto nods.

"Yeah, if I remember...that country was in the middle of Coup?" he asks and Minato nods "Tazuna...this mission is more dangerous than C isn't it?" he asks and Minato nods.

"When I became a Sensei it was in the middle of a war, every mission was Dangerous" Minato begins "In these times of peace it's good to truly test a Genin, a mission like this is a good opportunity" he states.

"And if it's too hard?" Naruto asks and Minato hands him the missions scroll

"If it's too hard then you have no right to act all mighty, Kakashi was doing missions ten times harder than this solo when he was younger than you" Minato challenges "All you want is to prove your strong...well prove it, or all this training you do is pointless"

Glaring for a moment he looked at the scroll, this was everything he wanted _"Dad is giving me a test...I'll ace it"_ he thinks before looking "I'll need to set up a plan with the others, should I warn them about the Coup?" he asks

"It's your mission Naruto, you decide what details are important" he says and Naruto nods "Be careful, mind your surroundings and never underestimate your enemy...I don't know what obstacles you will be facing so be vigilant" he sees Naruto nod "I'll see you at home, I have one final thing to give you" he says and Naruto turns to leave.

"Thanks for the opportunity...Dad"

* * *

 **Team 7 Training Ground**

* * *

"A Coup?" Shikamaru asks for confirmation and Naruto nods, while it might have been smarter to wait and see however telling them now would mean they could better prepare for it "Then why is it a C-Rank?" he asks.

"The Coup has been going on for at least a year by now, it's likely the country is on the verge of poverty...if it isn't already, this was probably all they could afford" Naruto says "Chances are this guy will also be a high value target" he states "The Land of waves is cut off from the main land so you need a boat to do trade, however the guy trying to seize power controls the main docks which means he controls the trade and thus the country is broke, however the bridge builder we will be guarding is likely building a bridge which means" he pauses...

"The guy in charge of the Coup will want him dead which means we should be expecting Shinobi to be among his ranks" Shikamaru sighs "What a drag"

"Then this mission is way too dangerous" Ino says in an attempt to be the voice against taking this mission on "I mean we've barely been Genin for a couple days" she states.

"It doesn't matter" Sasuke says stepping forward "If we don't seize this opportunity, who knows when it'll come back around" he clenches his fist "I did not spend all that time training to pick weeds in gardens, catch run away pets and carrying groceries" he glares "By this time my brother was ANBU, if I can't complete an escort mission then I might as well quit being a Shinobi right now"

"This is a test, our chance to prove we aren't kids playing Shinobi" Naruto says looking at them all "If you are in the stand up with me" he decrees and Sasuke and Sakura stand, surprisingly Hinata stands up fast too.

"I want...to prove myself too Naruto" she says and he smiles nodding, Kiba and Shino stand in solidarity for Hinata.

"Well Team 10, what about you guys?" Sakura asks and Ino sighs as she and her team stand, "So Naruto what's the plan?" she asks

"Listen close"

 **_The following morning_**

"I expected real Shinobi but instead I get a gang of children?" Tazuna scoffs, his comment annoyed some of the Genin but Naruto was focused on the mission.

"Alright, Team 8 take your positions" The Blonde says, Kiba takes his position up front while Shino takes Rear guard, with Hinata in the middle.

" _So Naruto is using Team 8 to their strength, tracking enemies is their speciality"_ Kurenai thinks watching the group take off. The three Jonin had hidden them well, only a sensor would be liable to find them.

Sasuke and Sakura walked either side of Tazuna while Team ten walked as a group behind them while Naruto stood in front close to Hinata. "So Blonde boy, I take it you have some relation to the Yondaime?" he asks.

"Yeah, I'm his son" Naruto says making sure to be on alert; he knew a sneak attack would be coming soon but where would be the question. "Anything?" he asks and she shakes her head. She knew her Byakugan wasn't the strongest, but having Naruto near her helped motivate her.

"I've heard Lord Minato is perhaps the Greatest Shinobi to hold the position of Hokage since Hashirama Senju of the Elder Days" Tazuna says and Naruto scoffs slightly.

"Comparing one to a man long dead is pointless, besides it's hard to believe anyone will ever be as strong as a man considered "God of Shinobi" throughout the world" Naruto says seeing a white rabbit suddenly enter their path, as well as a puddle.

"Yeah it is Naruto" Sasuke says with his Sharingan activated, _"The Byakugan can allow the user to see at a near 360 degrees and allows the user to see through objects and even the Chakra Network however it doesn't look like Hinata has trained hers very well"_ Sasuke thinks _"Fortunately my Sharingan can see Chakra as colours"_ he thinks so he knew they were heading for a trap.

Soon they reach a bend, Naruto grabs Tazuna suddenly as two shadows appear and encircle the two with a chain "Together" one says to the other as they begin to pull the chain in an attempt to rip both Naruto and Tazuna to shreds. However Naruto foreseeing this teleports them out using a Kunai he gave to Shino, this way Tazuna would be at the back and the attackers would be surrounded "we are The Demon Brothers, Gōzu and Meizu" one of the Chunin level Shinobi says.

"Sasuke lets go with that attack" Naruto says and Sasuke nods pulling out a Raijin Kunai and throwing it into the air before forming the hand Signs to use his Jutsu after Naruto. The other teams were still reeling by the sudden appearance of the enemy.

" **Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu** " Naruto uses his new Jutsu and completely soaks the Demon brothers leaving a path of water from them to Sasuke.

" **Chidori** " Sasuke presses his lightning based attack into the path sending the current straight to the Chunin shocking them before they have a chance to gather their counter attack. "Chunin from The Mist Village...no, these guys are Rouge" he comments.

Naruto lands in front of them "Tie them up, let the tracking Unit deal with them" he says turning to the group which had gathered "Looks like we will be setting up camp, I need to contact the Hokage" he says and all their eyes widen.

"You little shit, don't mock me" one of the brother says, with his armed claw bringing it down on Naruto who had become paralyzed with fear and shock and for the first time couldn't act...luckily for him...

" **Hakke Kūshō** " Hinata raises her palm pushing forward which fires a blast of air at the man sending him flying into the tree.

Naruto falls back _"H-He almost got me...if Hinata hadn't acted fast...I'd be dead"_ his eyes where widened, this was what Minato warned him about and their first enemies almost got him.

 **_Camp_**

Sasuke found himself pinned between Ino and Sakura...much to his annoyance, Shikamaru was already out for the night while Choji was munching away like normal, Kiba went to mark areas for safety while Shino was studying the local insects, and their builder was drunk and unconscious. Naruto was writing a report to send back to his father; The Demon Brothers had been tied up and likely found by their Sensei's. However he was hoping to get some Intel that might link the Chunin with known associates and help prepare for the next attackers.

"N-Naruto" he hears the timid voice of Hinata call to him, she hands him a cup, and pours some soup into it for him "Hopefully this will keep you warm" she says, too shy to say she made it herself but Naruto already knew.

"Thanks" he says taking a sip "Hopefully I'll get a reply before we leave tomorrow" he says biting his thumb to draw some blood" forming the **Boar** , **Dog** , **Bird** , **Monkey** , and **Ram** Hand Signs " **Kuchiyose no Jutsu** " he says summoning a red toad "Cute" he hears Hinata mumble and smiles. "Kōsuke can you get this to my day along with a fast reply?" he asks and the toad salutes.

"Of course Lord Naruto" he says before hopping away and towards the Hidden Leaf, once gone Naruto returns to drinking his soup, he had to admit it was refreshing, he brought some food pills, however his mother also packed him food into some scrolls, the Uzumaki clan was renowned for its sealing...not that he was any good at it.

"You were amazing today...I see why Lord Fourth made you leader" Hinata comments, she was really happy to be on a joint mission with Naruto. Ever since he helped her with some bullies she has had a crush on him but now she felt even if it was a little she was seeing Naruto more as a person and less as a boy she liked.

"I'm glad you're on this mission, if you weren't then I would be dead" he says looking at his mugs, "I owe you" he says and she shakes her head.

"We're comrades right?" she asks and he smiles a little and nods _"You just keep being you, and I'll help you...even if it's only a little"_ she thinks standing up "I'm going to go and find Kiba...goodnight Naruto" she says and he nods.

"Hinata" she pauses hearing him call her name, she freezes without turning around and feels his hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you"

* * *

 **The End**

* * *

 **Hope you like this chapter, writing fights seems to be my weakness. I modified the Land of Wave Arc so I could begin building the relationships between Naruto and Hinata along with Sasuke and Sakura.**

 **Also Naruto's relationship towards his parent's changes depending on their interaction, and Minato only knows his own side of the story so look forward to Naruto filling in the blanks in later chapters**

* * *

 **In the Next Chapter we will see all the teams flush slightly**

* * *

 **Till Next Time**

* * *

 _ **~DoTheBartMan**_


	4. Chapter 4

**I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR ITS CHARACTERS, I OWN THIS STORY AND ANY CHARACTERS I CREATE.**

* * *

 **Thanks for all the reviews**

 **Yes this is me confirming Naruto is NOT a Jinjuriki**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: The Silent Kill  
** _ **Demon of the Mist**_

* * *

It was early in the morning when Kōsuke returned, Naruto half expected his father to come however the Toad had completed his mission. "Lord Minato made sure to bookmark the person of interest" he says before vanishing in a puff of smoke. Many of the team where either asleep or just waking up, Sasuke and Shino where scouting the area.

"Yeah...thought as much" Naruto sighs as Sasuke and Shino return, "Thought what?" he hears Sasuke asks, he shows the Uchiha the profile "Zabuza Momochi" Naruto says and Sasuke has also heard of him.

"Who is that?" Ino asks representing the rest who haven't, Naruto hands the book to her but begins explain to the others what it says.

"He is known as the Demon of the Hidden Mist, a member of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist and a master of the silent kill" he begins "he is a Jonin class Shinobi with a kill on sight order and is the Demon Brothers known associate which means it's likely he will be coming for Tazuna" he says and bridge builder.

"Look I know I give you guys a hard time an all but this guy sounds dangerous" the older man says "We should turn back" he says and Naruto shakes his head.

"We just have to trick him into attacking a fake" Naruto says "Since I can teleport from about 1 mile away I'll lead a team of Shadow Clones down the common path" he begins "While you guys take a less conventional way" he says turning to them "Then once I have led them away I'll teleport to you guys" he finishes, he knew once they were in the land of waves he could control the battles as he needed, but travelling like this left him vulnerable.

"I have been meaning to ask, how you know about all this, it seems you know the truth about Gato trying to kill me" Tazuna finally asks after almost a 24 hours with the group.

"When this Gato guy came to the Land of Waves and began seeking control you contacted the Leaf about aid" Naruto begins, now he knew the name of the guy behind the attacks so he could begin learning about his Gato and his operations. "However Konoha couldn't openly support you since the Land of Waves shares its border with the Mist as well, and since they were lacking a Kage at the time there was no way to help without it looking like we were moving troops for an attempted takeover" Naruto explains "However my father kept this on the top of his list, so when you came with your job is was the perfect opportunity to help" he looks at the bridge builder "This mission won't end until you finish the bridge" he states and Tazuna bows.

"Thank you"

 **_The Jonin_**

"Naruto knows a lot more than he should about the Villages dealings" Kurenai says, "However he has proven to be an excellent leader" she adds.

"Zabuza Momochi...he's a high value target in the ANBU Bingo book too" Kakashi says with a serious look "Naruto's plan works out for the best, once they split up, you and Asuma follow the group while I tale Naruto" he says.

"You seem afraid, I doubt Zabuza would come out himself, he will likely wait until they reach the village" Asuma says "Simply shadowing them isn't going to work however if there are more Jonin within the town"

"Looks like their moving" Kurenai says seeing the majority of the team split off, Sasuke takes one of Naruto's Raijin Kunai before he and Sakura join the others. "Let's go" she says and Asuma nods patting Kakashi on the back before they run on ahead to scout

* * *

 **Konoha**

* * *

Itachi walked down the streets of Konoha, he was surprised to hear his brother got an escort mission so soon after graduation. Not that he doubted his brother's skill only that normally Genin go through an entire week of D-Rank Missions before being assigned something harder. This was to build Team trust and help them get used to their new Sensei; however he was proud of Sasuke for taking on the mission.

"Itachi!" he pauses hearing Izumi calling to him "I've been looking for you" she says leaning forward panting heavily as if she had been running around for awhile "I have a mission and Yondaime said I could choose a partner" she says showing him the scroll "There is a dangerous Rouge Nin near the Land of Waves named Kisame Hoshigaki" she says and his eyes widen slightly.

" _Sasuke's mission is in the Land of Waves"_ he thinks before looking at her "When do we leave?" he asks suprising her, she clearly wasn't ready "Meet me at the gate in 10 minutes" he orders and she nods...before remembering how it was her mission to begin with.

"Hey that's my line!"

 **_Minato and Kushina_**

"So you knew that young girl would go straight to Itachi?" Kushina asks and Minato nods "Still two members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the mist" she says with a serious look worried for her son.

"Naruto responded immediately to the situation at hand, many wouldn't get suspicious of two Rouge Ninja" Minato says "Still sending Itachi there will put a lot of my fear to rest" he adds, he knew Itachi was far stronger than Kakashi and most Jonin in the Village so Itachi would likely be able to keep the pressure off the Genin.

"I suppose all we can do now is wait" she sighs, _"Be safe...Naruto"_

* * *

 **Naruto**

* * *

Naruto could sense the incoming swordsman, the malicious intent was unreal and if he was honest...it was terrifying. He could already tell his plan hadn't worked like he thought; it would seem Zabuza was now targeting him instead of the Bridge Builder.

Soon enough he was forced to jump to the floor as a massive blade cut through the clones and impaled to a tree trunk "Nice reflexes" he hears a new voice say as a man lands on the hilt of the blade.

"It seems like I got your attention" Naruto says pulling out two Kunai in preparation, he knew he wouldn't beat Zabuza but he could slow him down enough that the others get to the Village before nightfall.

"Good form and posture, as expected by the Hokage's son" he says and Naruto realizes what this is about "I won't pretend you aren't aware by now but The Land of Waves is perfect for me as it is, while under dispute the Mizukage can't send her Tracking corp. after me" he says "Now once I have you as my prisoner I will have the Hokage hand over the Builder and pull all Leaf Shinobi from the area for your safe Return" he explains.

"Even if you manage to catch me, the moment you send that letter to the village you sign away any chance you have at freedom" Naruto says, the moment his father reads that letter the moment after he would be in the same room and would likely kill everyone in the room in a flash. "Challenging my father is a fools bet, he's defeated countless Shinobi better than you" he smirks seeing a flash of annoyance appear on Zabuza's face.

"Don't push me kid, I'm not above removing your legs" he warns pulling his blade from the tree "Now are you coming with me the easy way or the fun way?" he asks and Naruto throws both Kunai towards him "Fun it is" he says deflecting the Kunai up but Naruto teleports to them catching them and throwing them down before he can react, however he manages to avoid serious injuries by moving forward, but the outer blades slice his back slightly.

"You'll have to be much faster than that to take me on" Naruto boasts, _"If I can separate him from his blade I should be OK"_

" **Kirigakure no Jutsu** " Zabuza summons his villages signature Jutsu completely hiding himself; still he was impressed Naruto was able to make him use this Jutsu. _"He won't need a leg to be my prisoner"_ he thinks bringing his sword across fully intending to remove the Genin's legs, however his eyes widen when the Naruto he attacked was a Shadow Clone.

"Don't underestimate your opponent" Naruto says charging behind him and marking the blade, he realises how late it is "It's been fun but I'm taking this and going" he says suddenly holding the blade before disappearing in a flash.

"That bastard" Zabuza growls as the mist clears, he needed to make his way back to the base _"I underestimated him too much, he knows his father's Jutsu"_ his eyes widen when he sees a new Leaf Shinobi "Kakashi Hatake...I thought it was weird sending a bunch of kids on this mission"

"I am only shadowing the group...but I will deal with you personally" Kakashi says only for three Senbon to pierce the Mist Rouges Neck.

"Thank you for drawing his gaze" A masked Shinobi says, judging from his mask he was from the mist and likely a member of their tracking unit. "This man has been a thorn in the Mizukage for a while" he says and Kakashi nods.

"Senbon...odd choice for a weapon to deliver a kill" Kakashi says seeing the younger Shinobi freeze, checking Zabuza's pulse and feeling none "Very effective" he says seeing the boy relax. "I'll leave you to dispose of the body" he says heading off to meet up with the others.

 **_The Genin_**

They arrived within the village limits, it was an awful sight to behold seeing people live in such poverty, food was scarce and from the looks of it, prices were ridiculous. Naruto led the group with the massive blade strapped to his back, "My house is just up here" Tazuna points to the small hut.

Once inside the Shinobi sit around to discuss plans while the bridge builder rests "Now that we've made it into the city Gato will likely become desperate to see Tazuna dead, fortunately we have a city to work and plan out counters in" Naruto begins resting the large Sword in front of him.

"What about this?" Sasuke asks, it was the Executioners Blade, one of the legendary Swords from the Mist Village. Having this sword would likely breath hostility between Leaf and Mist "Better off hiding it, even if Kakashi finished off Zabuza he likely had student to take over for him" the Uchiha says.

"It's possible he did...but I'm sending this blade straight back to the Mist" Naruto says suprising them "For years our villages have been on edge, even more so since the elders of the mist believe we killed the Forth Mizukage" he says and Sasuke looks away, he knew about this too since the Shinobi rumoured to be blamed is an Uchiha Rouge.

"So you want to give this blade back as an olive branch?" Shikamaru asks and Naruto nods "Shouldn't you contact The Hokage first?" he asks and Naruto scoffs internally.

"That would just waste time, if I know my father he'd agree that neutralizing this blade will weaken Gato" Naruto says, he then pulls out a pap of the city where the bridge is being build. "Anyway, Tazuna will be working on the bridge tomorrow with volunteers, in order to make sure the Bridge is successful we will need to protect them all" he looks at team 8 "Kiba, you will lead your team, set up a parameter and lead any of Gato's men into these choke points" he says pointing to two X's he made, each where a small alley where the large forces Gato would be bring.

"Got it, I'll lay out some markings in the morning, Hinata you take a high ground to increase you field of vision and Shino, lay out some traps" Kiba says and his teammates nod.

"Team 10, you will be in charge off neutralizing these foot soldiers once they reach these points" Naruto says "I'll leave it to you guys who plans the attack, once they are down rally back to the bridge...it will likely be where Gato focuses his Shinobi force" he says.

"Well Shikamaru is a great strategist so he will lead our squad" Ino says and Choji agrees much too the annoyance of the Lazy Nara.

"So Team 7 will guard the bridge" Shikamaru confirms his thoughts with a nod from Naruto "I expect our Jonin shadow team to support you guys, as much as you hate to admit it Naruto, you and Sasuke can't fight off this force alone" he says, it wasn't disrespecting Sakura but he knew she was learning how to be a Medic which meant any combat training was on hold.

"I have a Jutsu that will hold them off, but it will only work once" Naruto says "We can prove ourselves here and now as credible Shinobi...or return to D rank chores" he says "Which do you want?"

* * *

 **Hours later in an unspecified location**

* * *

Having woken up still feeling the effects of his student's attack "Brutal as always" Zabuza groans clenching his fist feeling the muscle retention coming back "Still glad it fooled Kakashi Hatake...he is a man I can't beat without my blade" he adds, "Where is my blade now Haku?" he asks.

"Here it is master Zabuza" the mono toned teen says "It seems the Hokage's son was sending this to the Mist Village" he says and Zabuza laughs, "I also saw Gato on his way with some sell swords" he adds and Zabuza sits up cracking his neck as the door bursts open.

"That bastard is in the city, now that damn bridge will be finished and all my plans will be ruined!" the shorter man yells approaching the men "You damn Shinobi are overpaid as much as you are overrated!" he stomps his foot.

"Relax old man, I will deal with the Bridge Builder and the Leaf Shinobi" Zabuza says sitting from his bed, Tazuna had already started building the Bridge when all this started and as much as it annoyed him the bridge was too sturdy to do any real damage, build with the strongest stone it was truly the work of a master of the craft.

"You couldn't even beat a boy" Gato mocks as his guards grip their blades giving away their intention "I should just kill you now and be done with the lot of you Shinobi" he says and suddenly his guards were pinned to the wall by Haku and the teen Shinobi held their own swords against their throats "So fast!" Gato turns back to Zabuza who placed his blade on the shorter mans shoulders, "I-If you kill me, the Mist will send their Tracker's after you again" he says.

Zabuza smirks under his mask, true this weasel had his uses, and his power was influential enough to keep the Mist from these lands. "Don't misunderstand, I am not your soldier, you are not nearly strong enough to earn my respect as an equal...you are a means to an end" Zabuza begins "I will give you these lands, I will make you the ruler of this shithole nation" his eyes flash menacingly "Come here again with such foolish ideas like believing these foot soldiers are enough to kill me and I will show you how I became known as the 'Demon of the Mist' are we clear?"

"Of course" Gato says as the blade is removed off his shoulder "Let's go" he turns to his men whom sheath the swords Haku had given back as they leave. _"I hope you all kill each other"_ he thinks bitterly, one way or another tomorrow this country would be his.

"Master Zabuza...will he be a problem?" Haku asks and the Sword master nods "These Leaf children are good?" he asks.

"I can't account for the Uchiha, however the Hokage's brat is quite clever" Zabuza says looking at the blade, had the blade been returned to the village then even Gato would not have been able to stop the Mist from Sending their Shinobi to investigate "He tried to ensure I wouldn't be able to interfere" he says "He will be a challenge for you Haku, if he knows his father's Jutsu even you will be too slow to catch him"

"I have much to Learn Master Zabuza"

* * *

 **Konoha**

* * *

"So our boys are off on their first real mission" Mikoto says and Kushina nods "I am surprised you stopped with one child Kushina, Itachi have such a strong relationship" she says and Kushina smiles.

"Pregnancy was hard for both me and Minato, now that he is Hokage he needs to focus on the Villages prosperity, also the Pregnancy left some lasting effects on me, I won't risk it yet" she says looking down, it was dangerous for her to be pregnant since she was the Nine Tails Jinjuriki. While giving birth to Naruto, Minato needed to hold the Nine Tails at bay since the seal was at its weakest during the whole birthing process.

"I see, still I think Naruto would make a great older brother" Mikoto says "Still, it feels like only yesterday I held Sasuke in my arms for the first time" she sighs "We all thought he was going to be a girl at first" she laughs lightly.

Kushina smiles, she remembered holding Naruto for the first time. It is the most clarifying moment of your life when you hold your first child. A little life that grew inside you now was in the world and more vulnerable than ever, she remembered the way his eyes were so full of energy from his first breath, even though their relationship was strained she deeply loved her son. "When Naruto was born he cried every time I held him, but the moment he saw his dad for the first time he calmed down" Kushina says deciding she was being too quiet "Minato always had that calming effect" she adds with a laugh "Comes with being a genius"

"Too right"

 **_The following afternoon in the Land of Waves_**

10 men got to work on the Bridge, nearly half as much as he had when he started, either dead or too afraid to help; the death of Kaiza had demoralized the village including Tazuna's Grandson Inari who had screamed at the Genin to leave and how Hero's only died.

"Shinobi aren't heroes, and the world doesn't indulge with cowards regardless of their age"

It was Naruto's chilling words that sent to boy to his room to sulk.

Now Team 7 watched the Builders work "Naruto...about what you said about Shinobi" Sakura begins "Your father is considered a hero by many" she states.

"And a murder by more, my father killed entire platoons by himself, many likely had families who had to bury them" Naruto says looking at her "In a world where even minor disagreements can lead to all out war...that world doesn't breed Heroes, it breeds killers"

Sasuke listened, Itachi and Naruto though alike is many aspects. Fugaku brought Itachi to a battlefield as a child and from that day on and for a long time Itachi pondered what being alive truly meant "Who knows, maybe you will be the person who changes the system" Sasuke says with a slight jest filled look which Naruto picks up on and Laughs.

"Maybe us three will become the leaders of a new world" he says and Sasuke laughs, Sakura looks down, she couldn't understand their somewhat cynical view.

"Looks like you are more philosophical than you look" they jump on guard upon hearing Zabuza say too them, he had led a small army of men past their ambush.

"His sword!" Sakura says realizing Naruto's plan to send it back had failed

"Yes, quite clever Naruto Namikaze, you are just like your old man" the bandaged face Shinobi says "But can you handle this Jutsu?" he asks forming the **Ox , Monkey , Hare , Rat , Boar , Bird , Ox , Horse , Bird , Rat , Tiger , Dog , Tiger , Snake , Ox , Ram , Snake , Boar , Ram , Rat , Yang Water , Monkey , Bird , Dragon , Bird , Ox , Horse , Ram , Tiger , Snake , Rat , Monkey , Hare , Boar , Dragon , Ram , Rat , Ox , Monkey , Bird , Yang Water , Rat , Boar ,** and **Bird** " **Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu** " Water from below erupts forming into the shape of a Dragon lunging towards Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura stayed back to protect the Bridge Builders who bravely worked in spite of the battle

Naruto quickly forms a Snake, Horse, Rat, and Ram Hand Signs along with a Technique Specific Hand Seal which seemed to incorporate the formula on the Kunai in his hands " **Hiraishin: Dōrai** " a massive seal appears and begins absorbing the water formed Dragon "You shouldn't assume that Sword is safe, my marking will never vanish" Naruto smirks as Zabuza realises what is about to happen as the Dragon shoots from the sword blowing his own men away. "And don't bring thugs to a Shinobi fight and expect them to make any difference" he adds

"One way or another boy" Zabuza points to blade at Naruto

"One of us will die on this Bridge"

* * *

 **The End**

* * *

 **Hope you liked this chapter, I would have updated sooner but I have been playing Pokémon Go.**

* * *

 **In the next Chapter, the conclusion of the Land of Wave Mini Arc, how will our Genin fair in the coming battle even with Naruto outsmarting Zabuza twice, he is still dangerous.**

* * *

 **Till Next Time**

* * *

 _ **~DoTheBartMan**_


	5. Chapter 5

**I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR ITS CHARACTERS, I OWN THIS STORY AND ANY CHARACTERS I CREATE.**

* * *

 **Update on Pokémon Go: SHOUT OUT TO ALL MY MYSTIC TEAMMATES!**

 **I have never been one for battles, so sorry in advance if they seem short**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Meaning and Purpose  
** _ **I am my own person**_

* * *

Kakashi lands in front of Naruto, "Naruto, you are needed back at the Bridge Builders house, Gato sent men there to take his family hostage" Kakashi says and Naruto looks like he was about to protest "You have nothing to prove to anyone, and there will be many battles for you...leave this guy to me" he says and Naruto nods heading into the city.

"That boy has a future, if he is able to cast away his humanity that is" Zabuza comments resting his blade on his shoulders "That always was the problem with you Konoha Shinobi, raised to hold your comrades as important, but Shinobi are tools" he mocks.

"That's true; each Shinobi from our village carries with them the Will of Fire. The will which has been passed from the First Hokage to each one of us" Kakashi begins "So no matter what, no matter how far you go there is a place you can call home" he says "Then there is your village, 'The Blood' Mist Village...a pack of animals like you who'd stab your own in the back to succeed" he says with his own tone filled with mockery "And each betray led to another betrayal and before long you where killing each other during a Great War, which resulted in the Mist losing nearly all of its land AND later it's Mizukage"

"The world tolerates only the strong Kakashi, you and I are a testament to that" Zabuza says "We survived those dark days and came out stronger"

"Yes...but those days are over; our era is on its way out" Kakashi states "Naruto and Shinobi like his will lead the next era" he looks off in the direction Naruto ran "And it will be an era of peace"

"Peace is boring, Shinobi aren't built for peace" Zabuza retorts rashly "Guys like us are built for war"

"Then I will do my part to bring our era to an end" Kakashi lifts his headband unveiling his Sharingan "By killing you"

 **_Naruto_**

It didn't take him long to dispatch the mercenaries sent to the cabin _"Kakashi sent me to deal with this trash"_ he sighs "You can come out Tsunami, Inari" he says seeing the woman and her son peek out at the door.

"H-How did you beat those men...they were so strong?" Inari asks, Naruto was about to retort sarcastically but he remembered this boy grew up around fishermen and carpenters. A Shinobi like himself is a new perspective on life.

"These men are normal men, untrained and undisciplined" Naruto begins walking over to them "From a young age boys and girls in our village are trained to battle the extraordinary, so normal isn't enough to beat me" he smirks placing his palm on the boys head earning a laugh. "Tsunami...do you have some place to hide, it's likely more men will becoming this time"

"Yes...we have friends nearby" she says grabbing her son's hand and leading them away, just as a new Shinobi arrives.

"It was wise to send them away" the Masked teen says emotionlessly "How long have you known about me?" Haku asks curiously.

"The moment you took the Sword back" Naruto says venomously "You killed a good friend of mine to do it" he adds and the Mist Shinobi draws Senbon between his fingers.

"An unfortunate fatality, but that Blade belongs to Master Zabuza" Haku says "I must take the family of the Bridge Builder with me...move and you will be spared"

"I'll send you running back to your pathetic Master, if Kakashi Sensei hasn't killed him already" Naruto says, it was only for a brief moment but that comment definitely got a reaction out of the masked Shinobi.

* * *

 **Itachi and Izumi**

* * *

"It's hard to believe I've been found out by two Leaf Shinobi" the shadowy figure says with a calm tone.

"Come out Kisame Hosigaki... Hoshi- Hoshi-gaki Hoshigaki!" Izumi says trying to pronounce his surname; the writing had become faded and thus harder to read.

"Oh she's a comedian" the Shark looking man says stepping forward "I know you though, Itachi Uchiha, all throughout the Mist you along with Shisui are feared as the strongest of the Uchiha" he says and Itachi steps forward.

"Lord Hokage received word from the Mizukage that you where headed to the Land of Fire" Itachi begins "Why?"

"Where else would I go if I mean to avoid getting captured?" Kisame asks and Izumi activates her Sharingan.

"You won't be escaping" she says charging, however Kisame smashes his clothed Blade into her sending her flying back.

"Izumi!" Itachi reacts catching her _"The world is blunt, some cracked ribs but no puncher or internal bleeding"_ he quickly analyzes her body using the Sharingan, his was tuned like Sasuke's to see Chakra like colour's however he could see the Chakra around her wounds as they began to treat themselves, this was a trait those who could absorb Chakra from around them...similar to Sage Jutsu, it's believed Madara Uchiha had this ability.

"She is very hot headed for an Uchiha" Kisame says, a cold chill hits him upon seen Itachi's Mangekyou Sharingan _"As fearsome as I've heard"_ he thinks, "I know all about the conflict in the Land of waves, you think I intend to aid Zabuza as a fellow member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, but unlike your village we don't hold comrades in such high regards, in fact I'd sooner kill Zabuza myself, however I have no interest in being so close to my home land again"

"Your words are wasted, I will kill you here" Itachi walks forward but a cough from Izumi gives him pause, a battle would likely end up with her as the focus, Kisame had no reason to follow Itachi away and a battle here would likely killer her with fallout. His inner Shinobi told him to ignore Izumi and deal with the rouge, but looking at his childhood friend and someone who has cared for him since their youth the answer was clear. "Leave now Kisame Hoshigaki, return and death will be an unreachable dream" he says and Kisame sheaths his sword.

"A day may come when I return to these lands, and when day do I hope our paths cross again Itachi of the Uchiha Clan" the Mist Rouge says vanishing into the shadows.

Itachi picks Izumi into his arms gently; he began rushing back to the village to face the consequences for the mission's failure.

"I-Itachi" he hears Izumi call out to him weakly "Kisame...is he..." she gasps out faintly with pain, Itachi looks at her with very soft eyes, her own barely open.

"Some things are more important than a mission" Itachi says and her eyes close, however a single tear escaped from her visible eye. She knew she had rushed in too hastily and cost the mission, "Rest my foolish companion" where the last words he said to her, his tone similar to how he spoke to Sasuke.

* * *

 **Sasuke and Sakura**

* * *

The battle had been hard, they could see Kakashi and Zabuza battle but where in no position to help, like Naruto said, simple men with weapons are no match for Shinobi however their number where increasing and they had begun getting more accurate in their attempts at the carpenters.

Sakura looked at the three men she brought down, some of her time watching Naruto and Sasuke paid off. _"If Kakashi beats that Zabuza guy...then their morale should be broken"_ she thinks

"Sakura watch out!" Tazuna called out as a bunch of arrows came towards her, too late for her to move she braces for the impact. However a sword defects them along with a familiar hand pushing her down.

"I got you" Sasuke says wincing as an arrow was stuck in his shoulder, "This is getting crazy...we need Naruto or the other teams to help" he says seeing a bunch of soldiers charging them, he went to stand up but a sharp pain caused him to fall back down.

She wasn't sure if it was fear or anger that pushed her to her feet, but protecting Sasuke caused her body to act on instinct, her fist clenched tight she pulled back and swung with all her might. The four men expected a light tab from such a small girl however her punch packed enough force to send all four men flying back and past Kakashi and Zabuza.

"Sakura...how did you" Sasuke asks, he was amazed at the feat before him, he saw the Chakra gather in her fist and knew the punch would be stronger than it looked but to defeat four men in one blow.

"I...just wanted to have your back" she admits, "I don't know how I did it"

Soon enough as the rest of the foot Soldiers were about to launch another attack Asuma Sarutobi quickly defeated the rest bringing the battle to a close on their end

It could been seen from where they where Kakashi had Zabuza on the defensive, his mastery with the Sharingan along with his arsenal of Jutsu it was easy to see why Kakashi was so highly regarded _"So that's why he wears his mask like that"_ Sasuke thinks as Sakura positions herself behind him.

"The arrow is lodged against the Joint...so I need to pull it out before I can properly clean the wound" she says placing her hand on his shoulder and the other on the arrow, she could feel him tense in anticipation so with one tug she pulled the arrow out and Sasuke yelped in pain, she began using her healing Jutsu to stop the blood. It would be easier to treat the wound if she could get his shirt off, but the area of the wound made it impossible to move his arm without it apply pressure to the wound.

Sasuke knew enough about medical procedures to understand his shirt was in the way, so using his sword he cut up the front allowing the cloth to fall down around his back "I-I have a spare anyway" he says closing his eyes.

"You...packed extra clothes?" she asks

"It's a long story" he replies vaguely, no way in hell he was admitting his mom packed for him in the middle of a battlefield.

 **_Team 8_**

Kiba panted, he was running low on Chakra and Shino and Hinata were in trouble too. There were more men than anticipated and in truth they weren't prepared for such an encounter, Naruto was the son of a Legendary Shinobi, and he was a capable Shinobi in his own right, Sasuke was an Uchiha, gifted with greatness from birth...Hinata may be a Hyuga but she isn't as strong as her Clan has produced in the past, He and Akamaru where only getting started with their Justus combination and the battle had worn his partner out.

"Kurenai-Sensei...we're done" he says knowing she was nearby.

Hinata pushed her palm into her opponent's chest sending him back _"My eyes are feeling the strain over this battle...is this what Naruto endured to become as strong as he is...then I need to the same if I hope to stand beside him one day"_ she thinks wondering how he was fairing.

" _I've exhausted my Chakra, if I keep battling my bugs will devour me from the inside"_ Shino thinks, he never stood out in the academy, he had good grades but nothing worth noting, he believed he lacked an identity and this mission would be the stepping stone in making his mark on the Shinobi world.

" **Magen: Jubaku Satsu** "

The remaining men had been left paralyzed by Kurenai's Genjutsu, "Well done you three, against overwhelming odds you held your own" she says "The battle at the Bridge is winding down and team 10 has shown their own style" she says

"And Naruto?" Hinata asks and Kurenai smiles

"Proving to be his own Shinobi" was all the Jonin said

 **_Team 10_**

The area chosen worked out well, with all the shadowy area's worked well with the Nara Clan signature Shadow manipulation Jutsu. Ensnaring anyone who passed and those who managed to avoid the trap where taken down with either the Yamanaka mind manipulation Jutsu or the Akimichi Expansion Jutsu.

"Naruto was aware of the Ino-Shika-Cho" The Nara teen states, Naruto seemed to know more than he should, he doubted Naruto learned anything from The Hokage so the only real answer would be that he has been spying on them...perhaps everyone.

"Worked out well enough" Ino says, beneath the sit over 20 men tied up and immobilized. Many where simple mercenaries like the bulk of Gato's forces, but there where Chunin mixed in there, headbands from smaller nations with no real claim, thus these men weren't classified as Missing Nin.

"I wonder how the others are doing" Choji says, he sighed mentally kicking himself for leaving his last bag of potato chips, at least it proved the mission overpowered his need for junk food...at least for now.

"Most of the battles are wrapping up" Asuma lands behind Shikamaru, "Team 7 member Sasuke Uchiha suffered an injury but it's far from life threatening" he says but the mere mention of Sasuke being injured sent Ino off in the direction of the bridge.

"She's in for a disappointing scene" Shikamaru sighs confusing the two other guys, unlike them he already had the scene in his head.

And his inner scene was spot on, Ino came through a part the village which gave her a perfect angle of Sasuke and Sakura interacting, his upper torso along with his injured shoulder where bandaged, however they were sitting face to face talking, there was a small smile on Sasukes face like she had never seen before. In the Academy Sasuke was brooding in the corner most of the time and always got annoyed when she and the other girls tried to make small talk with him...and that included Sakura at one time

" _Do I really have a chance"_ she thinks with a sad sigh heading back to her team

 **_Naruto VS Haku_**

Haku expected it to be hard to pin Naruto down, having both unveiled their Kekkei Genkai to counter the others; the battle was now in a stale mate with Haku trying to trap Naruto while the Blonde tried to close the gap to score a decisive blow.

"Naruto Namikaze...you are everything I expected you to be" the masked teen pauses causing Naruto to halt as well "But what is your purpose?" he asks and Naruto tilts his head flashing a look that wants more detail "I am a tool, I exist to serve Master Zabuza, that is my purpose"

"My purpose right now is too protect this town" Naruto says wondering if that was what Haku wanted, the Mist Shinobi looked down as if it wasn't the answer "You can't dedicate your life to a single purpose, life is all about smaller goals that build towards finding your place in the world" he says.

"Shinobi only exist as tools for their nations, to breed conflict, war and death" Haku says with no emotion as Senbon scatter towards Naruto who teleports out of the way "Zabuza found and trained me, he turned me from a helpless child into the Shinobi you see before you"

"All Zabuza did was find a child who was likely at the lowest part in his life, give the boy a weapon and turned him into a killer" Naruto retorts "Zabuza doesn't care about you in any way, to him you're not even a tool, just a pawn"

"That's fine, as long as Zabuza achieves his goal" Haku dismisses the insult, Naruto remembered he had a similar obsession with his own father once believing as long as it made his father happy it was enough...but that wasn't good enough anymore.

While in his thoughts, Naruto's mind drifted from the battle showing his inexperience which allowed Haku to trap him in a dome of Ice mirrors, before he can comprehend what has happened he sees his masked opponent enter one of the Ice mirror's causing his reflection to appear in them all.

"It's over Naruto, you showed some skill but you let your mind wander" Haku says and Naruto glares "But this is as far as you go" he says throwing a Senbon needle, Naruto prepares to defend with a Kunai but the one he followed was fake as the real one stabs his calf.

" _So one was real"_ he thinks pulling the Senbon from his calf and examining it _"No poison...you'd have to be incredibly precise to do any real damage with these"_ he looks up seeing hundreds of the same needles heading to him. In his shoulders and back he feels many needles pierce his flesh, he falls to his hands and knees coughing up blood but also with his strategy to win.

"Is your speed a myth, or are you going to counter?" Haku asks/bates Naruto represented a thorn in his master's side so he needed to defeat him, but he had no desire to kill a child of a powerful Kage.

Naruto watched as all the reflections began emerging from the Ice Mirrors, opening his palm a sphere began to form in his right hand, in his left a Raijin Kunai in his left which he tosses into the air. He closes his eyes tossing the Kunai up...a combo of **Hiraishin — Ni no Dan** and **Rasengan**.

Haku ignored knowing he'd be able to turn and get Naruto once he teleported. Sure enough as he got close Naruto disappeared and he made a u-turn straight for the Kunai...Only Naruto had teleported again back to where he was standing _"I see...when he fell to the ground he marked it"_ Haku realizes he can't do anything as Naruto grabs the Kunai after Teleporting back to it bringing his Jutsu down.

"Rasengan!" he plants the Jutsu his father made into the back of his opponent shredding his shirt and leaving another mark, Haku fell to the ground and his dome shattered from the impact that shook the whole village "How was that for speed".

Haku was beaten

 **_Kakashi VS Zabuza_**

Kakashi was too much for the Swordsman, with the Sharingan he was able to predict the Rouge Ninjas attack and counter it effectively. Now he had been pinned down by Kakashi's dogs defeated himself "I doesn't matter if you beat me" he says "My student will carry on my will"

"Then he will also be defeated, but hopefully he can change with you gone from this world" Kakashi says driving his **Raikiri** into the Demons chest killing him.

"You have ruined everything!" they turn to see an enraged Gato standing alone, everyone he hired gone and his empire in ruins at the hands of Shinobi "All your kind do is breed war and violence, regardless of business"

"The people of this village and their future aren't your property" Sasuke says "Shinobi aren't the problem people like you who think money makes you right, makes you powerful but your just a little man with no leg to stand on" He smirks once Gato realizes he is surrounded by the villagers.

Gato was on the receiving end of a brutal beating but despite everything they went through because of him, they showed they were better than him by sparing and incarcerating him instead of killing him. The Battle for the future of the Land of waves had been decided, Naruto had proven to be a substantial leader and The Genin teams proved their worth.

Peace had come at last

* * *

 **The End**

* * *

 **Hope you liked the Chapter; the next chapter will have some nice pairing moments as well as parental moments.**

* * *

 **Till Next Time**

* * *

 _ **~DoTheBartMan**_


	6. Chapter 6

**I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR ITS CHARACTERS, I OWN THIS STORY AND ANY CHARACTERS I CREATE.**

* * *

 **Thank you for the reviews**

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Home  
** _ **Growing up**_

* * *

A few days had passed giving Naruto and Sasuke time to recover before they could travel again, the past two days had been interesting to say the least.

 **The Day following the battle**

The Konoha team was surprised to see a group of Mist Shinobi led by Mei Terumi the fifth Mizukage herself arrive at the small village. Apparently she had Shinobi in the area waiting for the proof she needed to help these lands, and all the Rouge Ninja Gato Hired was the chance she needed.

"So...the lords that own this land where protecting Gato because of profit" Kakashi stands across from the Mizukage, being the highest ranking Shinobi there it was his job to negotiate with the Kage. "However we have dealt with the crises at hand...so why come now?" he asks

"Your prisoner is a Rouge from our village, he needs to be brought back and face our chosen punishment" she says in response, Kakashi looks at the boy defeated by Naruto, he hadn't spoken since learning of his masters fate, and had only eaten a small amount of food.

"From what I've heard, this boy never enrolled in your village's academy and was trained by Zabuza...AFTER he went Rouge" Kakashi says "Thus he isn't a registered Shinobi of the Mist, or of any village" he states.

"So you intend to bring him to the Hokage and have him registered as a Leaf Shinobi" One of the Mist Jonin speaks up "You think we will let you do that?" he says in an almost threatening way.

"Is that all you Mist Shinobi can respond with, violence?" Asuma asks stepping forward "But then the Blood Mist Village are nothing but scum" he says, the Sarutobi was surprised Kakashi remained so composed given his history with the Mist Village.

"We are no longer the Blood Mist Village" Mei says "We are-" she is cut off

"I'll tell you what the Mist Village was" Kakashi says and Asuma stood back knowing the mood Kakashi was in now "A gang of thugs who send 15 ANBU level Shinobi to kidnap 1 Konoha Medic to turn her into a weapon against the Village she loved because my sensei showed you how strong you really were in battle" he says and Mei looks away "That was what you were, what you are remains to be scene" he finishes, he would likely never forgive the Mist Village for what they did to his friend but he wouldn't drag her memory into this argument.

"Yes...our actions in the past were atrocious, but I as Mizukage hope to change our Villages fate. This child also suffered because of our past, coming from a small farming village that was often drained of its resources during a war came to hate Shinobi, and as a result he suffered from it" she looks at the emotionless eyes of the tied up teen.

"Well, nothing is being decided now" Naruto says standing in front of Haku, Naruto being the image of his father sent a chill down the spine of the more seasoned Jonin accompanying their Mizukage. "Deal with your other matters and come back, then we can see what Haku wants to do" he says and Mei smiles.

She found Minato to be a very attractive man, and Naruto definitely inherited his looks, but he wasn't withdrawn like Minato which must be his mother's outspokenness that Naruto was displaying now, no Genin would speak out to a foreign leader. While some would claim it an Insult and a lack of discipline, she found it quite charming, "Very well, once I have dealt with the Lords who hid the truth from me, I will come to hear Haku's decision" she says and leaves followed by her guards.

"Naruto...you should remember your place" Kakashi says, not angrily but more to facade being angry to save face, none of the other teams said a word choosing to simply to a spectator in the exchange "Why not just hand Haku over?" he asks curiously.

"You can't truly call a place home if you feel like a prisoner" Naruto states, he could tell Mei wanted to make Haku a Shinobi of the Mist but as he was now...he'd be a danger to his team.

"Well, let's head back to the base of operations" Kakashi says to everyone who all urn and begin to walk away following the copy Nin. Once alone Naruto sat in front of Haku and crossed his arms, the emotionless eyes looked up from the ground to him.

"Why don't you kill me and be done with it, I am a failure" Haku says, he failed to become the weapon Zabuza needed and as a result his master was dead "Either by your hand or The Mizukage's my life will end soon" he adds.

"What did the Mizukage mean when she said you had suffered?" Naruto asks and Haku looks away "If you plan on dying anyway, where is the harm in telling me?" he adds.

"I never understood why it happened; I was born on a farming land and was being raised to take over for my father. One day I learned of my Ice Style Kekkei Genkai and my father saw me use it while showing my mother who also had the same Kekkei Genkai" he pauses for a moment "With tears in his eyes he killed the woman he claimed to love simply for having a Kekkei Genkai, then he tried to kill me...but I killed him and the whole village first. That day I saw that humans are flawed creatures ruled by foolish emotions" he ends sounding bitter and sad.

"How did you meet Zabuza?" was Naruto's next question, he needed to hear everything before he could give an answer to how he could help Haku.

"After I became an orphan no one would take me in, I survived on what I found in the trash and I would even have to fight off stray dogs" he begins "But then Zabuza found me, he lifted from the cold and gave me a purpose, from that day I swore to be the weapon that would help Zabuza reach his goals...but I failed again" he closes his eyes "Now I await a death, nothing less than a failure like me deserves"

"You didn't fail, the world failed you" Naruto says and Haku looks at him "I can't tell you why your father did what he did, perhaps they suffered in the war at the hand of a Kekkei Genkai user which made them fear it" he says "But Zabuza didn't save you, he wanted to use you for his own desires" he pauses seeing Haku about to speak "That is what I wanted!" the tied teen yelled, "You're human, you need to find your own dreams, your own ambitions, no matter what mask you hide behind you are human!" Naruto says grabbing Haku by the collar "Zabuza was a vile human, who saw you, a little boy alone in the snow and tried to strip you of your humanity, the life given to you by your mother, you are all that's left that proves she existed!" he says and Haku's eyes widened "Wouldn't she be sad to see her son like this? Wouldn't she want you to live and find happiness?" he asks, Naruto was subconsciously admitting he was home sick, trying to justify his own actions towards his family while trying to convince Haku to live.

"E-Even if I wanted to live, there is nowhere for me" he says and Naruto releases the boys collar and falls backwards.

"You are wrong"

The following morning the Mizukage returned alone, not wanting to risk a confrontation like last time "So you have decided" she says and Haku nods, the colour in his face looked healthier.

"Yes Lord Mizukage, with your leave I would go to the Hidden Leaf and face whatever punishment they deem just" he says and she looks at Naruto before nodding.

"I agree to leave Haku of the Yuki clan with you Leaf Shinobi" she says turning to Naruto "As a token of our agreement I leave The Executioners Blade in your care Naruto Namikaze" she says suprising them all, this was one of their villages legendary weapons "May it find it's honour in your care" she adds and Naruto grips the handle.

"Thank you" he bows respectfully, "I hope you succeed in your dream of restoring your village to its past greatness" he adds and she laughs.

"When you are older you will make a wonderful husband to a lucky lady" she winks and Naruto blushes watching her leave.

"Getting hit on by foreign leaders" Kiba smirks "Quite the guy!" he adds and Naruto pulls on his head band.

"S-Shut up" he mutters

* * *

 **The following afternoon**

* * *

Team 10 along with Haku had begun their journey back to Konoha, the rest stayed behind to ensure the Bridges completion. However with Gato taken care of many others had begun building alongside the few Volunteer and it looked that soon the Bridge would be finished.

Naruto sat on his own looking at the blade given to him by Mei Terumi the Mizukage, whatever her intentions such a large blade was wasted on him, it was too heavy for him to use in battle. Placing it on a scroll he seals it away using sealing Jutsu otherwise known as **Fūinjutsu**.

Sakura and Sasuke sat at the other side of the bank watching him "Naruto really is amazing, he not only defeated a Jonin but another Kekkei Genkai user as well" she says and Sasuke nods.

"Negotiating with the Mizukage as well, I doubt even Kakashi could have persuaded her to leave Haku with us" Sasuke says "Seeing as Naruto is the son of the Forth Hokage, perhaps she wants to extend an olive branch" he scratches his chin "But to give him one of their legendary swords too? Maybe she has another agenda" he adds.

"Either way I'm glad this ended rather fast, despite you and Naruto suffering injuries no one died" Sakura says and Sasuke nods absentmindedly "Sas...ke?"She sees his mind has wondered.

" _It's true I was injured, and if it hadn't been for Sakura I could have died"_ he thinks looking at the grass, he would need another day before he could travel which meant to other team would be leaving before them too. It was hard to be the weak link in a team, while Naruto was sore his wounds didn't prevent him from travelling, Kakashi was a Jonin so experience like his made this mission simple...then there was Sakura, in such a short time she had gone from a girl with good grades and Chakra control to a Medic already showing signs of progressing more and more, however he hadn't really accomplished much in the time since their team formed, he had his sword but little else. It was thanks to Itachi he had the Chidori which he copied from Kakashi when Kakashi and Itachi where on the same team.

 **-SMACK-**

His head is suddenly forced back from a blow that his headband which left a small scratch on it, he looks across at Naruto who is smirked tossing a pebble up and catching it "A Shinobi must be aware of his surroundings" the Blonde grins seeing the annoyed and flustered look on his face.

Kakashi watched, as the two boys tossed stones across the lake towards each other while Sakura waved her arms in protest trying to stop them _"They really are growing as a team"_ he smiles under his mask, after about an hour the trio where skipping stones across the larger body of water talking casually while doing so.

Hinata stared at them from behind a tree...or more specifically at Naruto, _"There he is...I thought this would be my chance to simply talk with him...but I can barely look at him without getting all flustered"_ she thinks with tinted red cheeks, their small conversation was still playing in her head from the other day. "Whatcha looking at?" she hears Kurenai Sensei say causing her to have to repress a scream of terror. "K-Kurenai-Sensei" she whispers and the older woman smiles.

"He's quite the young man, I grew up hearing stories about his father and found them difficult to believe, yet hear is another legend in the making casually throwing stones" she says leading Hinata to a small place to do some girl talk. "I can see why you would be infatuated with him" she says and Hinata looks at her sandals.

"I like Naruto, but the Naruto I love isn't the person he's has become, it's the person he was" Hinata says and Kurenai looks confused "Once...during a snow storm I got lost looking for my way home, it was dark and cold and I was so scared" she smiles "Then I felt a warm sensation, Naruto wrapped me in his coat and brought me to his house, talking to me about anything and everything just to make me forget I was lost" Kurenai couldn't help but smile at the noble deed "He even protected me from some bullies, and after getting hurt doing that he was more concerned about me that his own injuries, and he had that big smile on his face that made me feel better" she pauses "Then one day his smile was gone, he buried his face in Jutsu books and never looked at me again" she sighs sadly "The person he is now is someone I trust but, I watch in hope of seeing the smiling boy who would help anyone...not because he could but because he wanted too" she says.

"That boy is still there; people grow and change as times demand them too. Naruto more than most, it must be hard to live up to the expectations as the son of a Kage" Kurenai says "However perhaps being around you will bring out the old Naruto...even if it's just a little, but nothing will change if you hide in the shade and watch from afar" she places her hand on the young Hyuga's head. "If you can be someone he can open up to and maybe you will earn a place in his heart" she smiles before leave the young girl with her thoughts.

* * *

 **Konoha**

* * *

The light flickered in the room reflecting onto Izumi's face causing her to squint as she opened her eyes _"Where am I?"_ She thought feeling the neck brace restricting her head movement, raising her right arm seeing a cast "I-Itachi?" she called out weakly.

"I'm here" she feels the relief hit her upon hearing his voice "You are in Konoha Hospital, you where critically injured" he says, she can tell by his tone he has learned the truth "You should have told me you where applying for ANBU" he says and she closes her eyes.

"I was afraid you would stop me" She admits feeling his palm press on her shin letting her know where he was sitting.

"I would have" he says deeply "ANBU isn't something someone like you can handle" he says and she feels tears fall from her eyes "Because you value life too much" he clarifies rubbing her cheek softly to wipe the tears away looking down at her.

"Then ANBU isn't for you either" she closes her eyes nodding as best she could, "How do you figure?" she hears him ask her "Because you value my life too much" she flashes a grin.

He pokes her forehead "I am beginning to think that myself" he says and she blushes madly "But I have been wrong before" he smiles at her sudden flabbergasted look as he stands to leave "I need to report to details of the mission to The Hokage and the elders, Lord Minato saw fit to wait until you had regained consciousness before discussing the matter" he says "I'll be back as soon as I am free" he says and she smiles using her eyes to confirm his promise.

 **_The Hokage Estate_**

"Outrages, I gave you that mission Minato because you said you had a plan" Danzo says, Itachi figured the mission came from Root, only they have the network to gain such Intel in the first place "Now Kisame Hoshigaki has escaped into the Land of Lightning and gone dark" he paces back and forth clearing angered "Itachi I am surprised at your decision to choose the girl over completing the mission, ANBU never let small emotions compromise the mission" he says and Itachi's stone faced look gives him nothing in regards the Uchiha's plan.

"That is why I wish to retire as ANBU" he says suprising both Minato and Danzo, "Lately I have felt withdrawn from my friends and family, it is time I take my place as Heir to the Uchiha Clan" he says and Minato stands.

"I understand, however why bring this up now...why not days ago?" The Blonde asks, Itachi was one of the few ANBU he truly trusted and it hurt to lose him.

"I'm tired of seeing this village behind a mask, I want to experience it all for myself" Itachi says "The person I have become...isn't suitable for ANBU" he adds and Danzo faces the Hokage.

"Itachi knows too much about the ANBU organization, if he tells this to his Uchiha brethren it could harm our standing" he says making sure Itachi heard him.

"The Coup by the Uchiha have long been put to rest" Minato says as his fingers interlock so he can rest his chin on his clasped hands "So long as Itachi agrees NOT to spread any classified information I have no reason to deny his request" the blonde says annoying the older man

"Of course" Itachi says "This village is my home, anything I unveil could put it and the people I care about in danger" he says feeling Danzo's murderous aura "There is nothing I won't do to protect this village and the people I hold dear" Minato couldn't see but Danzo did, Itachi's **Mangekyou Sharingan** activated as a warning to say

"Stay away from my family"

* * *

 **The Land of Waves final day**

* * *

The Bridge had been completed, and named "The Great Naruto Bridge" in honour of Naruto for his success in leading the mission; Team 7 and 8 were walking home together. The adults walked farther ahead than the others leaving the Genin to talk, the conversation shifted to the rumour of curse seals being used on ANBU which prevented them from talking about the villages secrets should they be captured. Naruto used his knowledge from a book he read to take the lead of the conversation.

"Long before the Villages were established, back when Clans clashed over territory, Clan leaders would use a Curse seal on weaker Clansmen to safeguard their hideouts. Even after Lord First and Madara Uchiha allied their clans Senju and Uchiha, along with smaller clans like the Sarutobi and then Hyuga clans which became Konoha, clans still used this curse until trust was formed between the clans and the cursed was abolished" Naruto says "Well one clan still uses curses on their clansmen" he says absentmindedly realizing too late to stop it.

"The Hyuga" Sasuke says and Hinata looks away, he had heard about it as well, being in the same house as the Chief of the Konoha Police meant Sasuke sometimes heard information he shouldn't of.

"What curse do they use?" Sakura asks curiously, she never heard of curse seals before "I mean why you would in the first place?"

"Um...The Hyuga Clan's main house protects the secrets of the clan's history and ancestry, and so those in the Hyuga that aren't members of the main house have the seal placed on them, so when they die their Byakugan is sealed and can't be used ever again" she says suprising some of the others including Sasuke. The Uchiha also had a Dojutsu but don't use a curse seal to destroy the Sharingan upon the user's death.

"I hear it is also to prevent the side branches from usurping the Main Branches power and authority" Sasuke says casually while Kiba mocks like his head is in pain since the rumour that once activated the Hyuga curse causes unbearable head pain"

Hinata looks away before she turned to Sasuke to shift the conversation "How come the Uchiha don't worry about the Sharingan being stolen?" she asks and Sasuke shrugs.

"Our Clan isn't a Clan to be taken lightly, Me, my brother and my Father are descendants of Madara Uchiha...or so I've been told" he begins shocking the group even Naruto for a change "That's why we are the main family, the other members respect our heritage and respect our rule, I couldn't tell you why we don't fear our Sharingan being stolen" he ends with a shrug.

"Still Hinata, the Curse mark puts you at the most risk" Naruto faces her causing her to blush "I remember you know, when the representatives from The Cloud Village came in the name peace" he begins recalling the tail "Then in the dark of night one broke into the Hyuga Compound and made off with you in an attempt to bring the Byakugan to his village, and then he was blown away by your father" he pauses, he never heard about the ramifications but he remembered how angry the Cloud Village was threatening war again, but then it all paused.

"Still the only non clan members here Naruto and Sakura" Kiba points out, Sakura shrugs not really caring about it anymore. This mission has given her some confidence in her own abilities, however there **IS** as Clan she wants' to join.

"That's not true, I have my father's surname but through my mother I am a member of the Uzumaki Clan" Naruto says causing the whole group to halt with shock, only Kakashi knew this so it was huge to learn there were still members of the famous clan from the destroyed Whirlpool country around today

"Amazing, I heard the Uzumaki clan is cousins with the Senju" Shino chimes in to the conversation "and that their chakra is unique and quite powerful" he adds and Naruto nods.

"Yeah, the main feature for an Uzumaki is the red hair though" he says and Genin look up "Yeah, only half Uzumaki. I may look like my dad but I did inherit the Uzumaki Chakra" he states and Kiba scoffs

"What's so special about your Chakra?" the Dog Ninja asks, he and Naruto had a one sided rivalry and this revelation really put the final nail in that particular coffin.

"You mean other than my Kekkei Genkai?" Naruto replies flatly causing Kiba to deflate remembering "Still, according to my dad, my mom has strong Chakra even by Uzumaki standards" he says with a semi proud tone. He acknowledged their strength but he was out to prove his own...

The rest of the conversation died down, and soon with different paces and such Naruto was soon walking at the back with Hinata...much to her embarrassment. _"He's...so close"_ she thinks focusing all her might on not blushing, with a side glance in her direction however turns her might to mush as her cheeks turn a tinted pink.

"It's been awhile since we walked together like this" he comments and she nods "You know, I don't think any less of your clan, traditions that have become quite common for your can be seen as foreign to people not familiar with its practise" he comments, he felt like they went overboard earlier when talking about curse marks.

"I understand" she comments, she didn't want to admit out loud that she disliked her Clan's current state "Still I am surprised your mother is from such a legendary Clan" she says and Naruto smiles.

"Yeah, she moved to Konoha after the Land of Whirlpools was destroyed" Naruto states "She wasn't treated with the most welcoming reaction" he says, his father explained that the Village was still in the grips of the Third Great Ninja war and outsiders weren't trusted. He never explained WHY Kushina was sent to the village instead of going to where the rest of the Clan went.

"It must have been hard for her to adjust" Hinata says and Naruto gives a small grunt in response lost in thought "Still, she is lucky to have married the person she loved" she says quietly with a small blush.

"My parents are a weird couple" Naruto says with a small smile, while he may never be on the same wave length as them, he would always be their son "Still loud, brash and bossy pretty sums up my mother, not the kind of girl I'd want to marry" he says casually walking ahead "I'd rather have a quiet and dependable girl like you Hinata" is the last words he says as she halts almost losing her footing

" _Girl...like me?"_ she blushes madly looking at his back, the reflection from the sun gave him a glow that reflected her feelings for him. He was the Sun and she was the Moon, always watching in the shadow as he gave the world light and she could only show herself when he was gone.

"Hinata..." she hears him call out "We should catch up to the others, we are almost home" he says and she nods. Soon enough the massive gates of their Home, it was early in the morning which meant they would have to report to the Hokage in the afternoon or evening depending on how long they sleep in.

"I missed this place" Sasuke says and Naruto stands beside him, looking up at the Hokage Mountain and looking at his father's "Wonder what we missed" he adds and Naruto shrugs, each of the teams split up until it is simply the three Genin of Team 7 where left alone with their Sensei.

"I doubt Minato-Sensei foresaw the outcome of this mission" Kakashi says, after all on his first mission out Naruto defeated a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, recruited a Kekkei Genkai user and received a token from another Kage "But none the less you all performed perfectly, I was extremely impressed by you Sakura" he says and the Pink haired Genin smiles. "Well we will meet up when the Hokage wants a mission debrief, however I suggest you all head home and rest in your own beds" he says and they nod.

After Kakashi had left and Naruto headed home too Sasuke turned to Sakura "I owe you for saving me" he says, it was hard to admit it but in that moment Sakura saved his life without regard for her own safety.

"I only wanted to protect someone I care for" she says and he looks away blushing slightly, "Besides you helped me too, I would have died if you hadn't been there" she adds.

"Even still...I owe you" he says "So if there is something I can do then tell me" he adds and she blushes already knowing what she wants to ask.

"H-How about a...a date?" she suggests but quickly shakes her head "I'm kidding...how about" she is cut off by Sasuke.

"1 date seems fair I guess" he states and her eyes widen "After the debrief?" he suggests and she nods, "See you later then" he says putting his hands in his pockets and begins walking towards the compound.

"Did that just happen?" Sakura questions reality

 **_Namikaze Residence_**

It was still dark in the house _"Mom and Dad are likely sleeping"_ he thinks placing his pack on the ground, he pours himself a glass of water to quench his thirst. Behind him he hears a door open.

"Naruto" Kushina calls out, she looked like she was only up, bead head and all to prove it "Welcome back...how did it go?" she asks with her foot twitching like she was resisting the urge to leap over and crush him in a hug.

Naruto saw her jittering and sighed opening his arms, given the all go Kushina charges at him enveloping him in the strongest Mother Hug she could muster

"I missed you too mom"

* * *

 **The End**

* * *

 **Hope you liked it, the next chapter we learn Haku's fate, Sasuke and Sakura go on a date and Naruto discovers a dark secret**

* * *

 **Till Next Time**

 _ **~DoTheBartMan**_


	7. Chapter 7

**I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR ITS CHARACTERS, I OWN THIS STORY AND ANY CHARACTERS I CREATE.**

* * *

 **Thanks for the reviews**

 **What do people think of this for a pairing Shisui and Mei?**

* * *

 **Unrelated topic, what did people think of Suicide Squad? I liked it and enjoyed Jared Leto as Joker**

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Comfort and Confront  
** _ **Growing bond**_

* * *

Standing before his father along with the teams assigned to the escort mission, Naruto tries to read the Hokage's face which seemed turned by the reports in front of him. "Well done on completing your first escort mission, even as the situation became more complex you all handled yourselves competently" he says and Hinata steps forward.

"Only thanks to Naruto" she says and Minato smiles slightly, "Yeah Naruto definitely got us through the mission" Ino chimes in, "Yeah well I could have done a better job" Kiba says crossing his arms.

"We all accomplished the mission, now let the Hokage finish" Naruto says and the others step back and Minato breaths in to begin what comes next for the Genin.

"In two weeks the Chunin exams will take places within Konoha, all of your Sensei's have told me you are all capable and will be putting your names forward" he begins seeing the happiness in their eyes "So as of this moment training for the exam will be your top priority" he stands up "Now I need a moment alone with Naruto so you are all dismissed" he says his mood seeming to change.

Once alone Naruto watches as Minato paces back and forth "You should not have spoken to the Mizukage so casually" he says and Naruto meets his gaze not backing down "No matter how good you believe you have become, your just a Genin" he says and Naruto glares.

"Kakashi-Sensei was being side tracked by the past and Haku didn't want to go back to the Mist Village" Naruto says "So I as team leader decided to voice my opinion, or was my appointment as leader merely for show?" he asks sarcastically.

"What's done is done I guess but next time remember not all Kage will tolerate your attitude" he says and Naruto scoffs "The elders are deciding what to do with him" he sees Naruto's confused look "What you thought he would be welcomed with open arms? Whether he wasn't a registered Shinobi or not he still caused many innocent people a lot of pain, supported a hostile takeover of a village and admitted openly that he is still loyal to his Rouge Sensei" Minato lists out "By all accounts he should be executed or imprisoned for life" he states.

"That would be a waste" Naruto shakes his head in disapproval "He has a powerful Kekkei Genkai, he is intelligent and for an assassin...very gentle" he lists out all the reasons it would be crazy to ignore. "The Konoha Police could benefit from his skills greatly, he can disable a target without causing serious harm" he says and Minato's eyes widen at this idea.

"One more thing Naruto" he says pulling out a form "While the others were recommended for the Chunin Exams, the Jonin recommended you for automatic promotion" He says and Naruto's stunned look makes him smile "Despite what I said, I am very proud of you Naruto" he adds.

"So...if I accept, what happens to Sasuke and Sakura's Chunin Exam tryout?" he ask, he knew that Genin where tested in threes.

"They will either face a handicap or find a third member" Minato says in reply "I don't need an answer right now Naruto, you have two weeks to make a decision" he states and Naruto nods leaving the room.

 **_The Hospital_**

Izumi found herself in a weird moment as Sasuke and Itachi sat on either side of her bed, the younger Uchiha surprised them both showing up with a bookey of flowers for her. Dismissing his pink haired companion at the door with the promise "I'll pick you up later" is the last words spoken between the two Genin.

"So was that your girlfriend?" Izumi teases the younger Uchiha who blushes lightly responding "She is my teammate". Itachi was peeling the skin off an apple for Izumi who was unable to do it while her had was in a cast, "Congratulations on your first assignment" she says and Sasuke nods.

"Thanks, glad to see your still in high spirits despite being injured" Sasuke says which came off as a back handed compliment "Still it is Naruto who deserves the praise, he guided the mission perfectly" he adds looking down.

"Naruto is a gifted Shinobi; perhaps we will see his head on the Hokage Mountain one day next to his father" Itachi comments as he cuts the Apple into cubes and placing the plate on Izumi's lap "Now all that remains is for you to show your abilities during the Chunin Exams" he adds and Sasuke looks at him "The final stage always has Genin spar against one another in a bracket styled tournament" he explains and Sasuke nods "Over the next week you will see young Shinobi from the other villages showing up to settle in before the exams so study them closely Sasuke" he instructs and his little brother nods standing up.

"Rest up Izumi" Sasuke says and Itachi's girlfriend nods with a big smile, "See you at home brother" he adds and Itachi nods.

Once Sasuke left the room "Did Sasuke seem happy?" she asks and Itachi nods "I wonder what happened on that mission"

"Something positive by how he looked"

* * *

 **A little later on**

* * *

"What!?" Danzo stands up "Out of the question! This rouge has no place among our ranks" he growls, in truth Danzo wanted Haku for Root, it's not every day a Kekkei Genkai user falls on the table, "Placing him with the Uchiha who handle our villages security is morally wrong" he states

"I am inclined to agree with Danzo" Homura says looking at the young Hokage "Regardless if he is or isn't associated as a Mist Shinobi, the boy is an outside, how can we trust him?" he asks

"In case you forgot MY WIFE was not born in this village" Minato says and Homura seems to realize he may have offended perhaps the strongest Shinobi in the village.

"I meant no offence, also Lady Kushina was trained in this village and grew up here" he clarifies "This Haku was trained by a Rouge to be a killer, how can we place out villagers safety within an unknown personality?" he asks, it was a fair question but Koharu decided to speak before allowing Minato to answer.

"Fugaku, you have been silent on the matter" she begins "As the Commander you have a strong vote in this matter" she says "What are your thoughts?"

"For a long while now, Shisui has been lobbying for me to establish a branch near the Land of Waves" he says crossing his arms "If the boy is to join the Police force I would place him there under Shisui's Charge" he says and Danzo's eyes widen.

He didn't like the idea of the Uchiha opening another branch of their police force "What would stop him from betraying Konoha and bringing Shisui's Sharingan?" he asks and Fugaku steps forward

"The Sharingan is not property of Konoha, they belong to the Uchiha" he says and Danzo glares slightly "With respect to you Lord Hokage, if Haku lost to Naruto then Shisui is more than capable of handling him"" he says changing the subject matter "I will take Haku if the only other choices for him are Imprisonment or Death" he adds. "It would be a waste" he adds

Much to Danzo's annoyance it was voted 4 to 2 in favour of Haku joining the Konoha Police force, soon everyone was gone leaving Fugaku, Minato and Hiruzen in the Hokage's Office "So your son suggested this?" Fugaku asks and Minato nods.

"It's hard to read what's going on inside Naruto's head sometimes" Minato says "Still this may be a good thing" he adds looking out his window "How long will you need to have a division of you men ready to be sent to the Land of Waves?" he asks

"I intend to wait until after the Chunin exams" Fugaku states, with all the Shinobi coming it would be wise to wait and have as many Shinobi as possible.

"I hear Naruto has been promoted" Hiruzen says and Minato smiles saying "He's thinking about it now, it seems he will turn it down so he can take the exams with his team". Hiruzen was surprised to hear this, he figured Naruto was trying to surpass his father "Well either way the village is strong with its youth and will continue on regardless of what a few old timers believe" he says as Minato turns to him "You understand?" he asks and Minato nods, as Hiruzen

"Do I want to know?" Fugaku asks and Minato raises his hands slightly saying "Minor details", the two men stand silently for a moment before the Uchiha makes an odd request "Mikoto was wondering if you, Kushina and Naruto would like to come over for dinner, Sasuke is eating out tonight and Itachi spends most of the day at the Hospital" he says adding why his sons will not be there.

"Naruto will likely be training but me and Kushina will be there" Minato nods "We can continue this discussion in your office" he adds and Fugaku nods in agreement. Minato didn't trust Danzo, the man had his own agenda and because of his position he was pretty much untouchable without proof. "Till then" he says and Fugaku excuses himself, once alone he closed his eyes and sighed _"The coming months will be my greatest trial as Hokage"_ he thinks

He had no idea

* * *

 **Later on with Naruto**

* * *

Learning that his parents would be out late put Naruto in a good mood, he had a lot on his mind with the auto promotion or teaming with Sasuke and Sakura and taking on the Chunin Exams. Plus the incident with Haku and the overwhelming feeling like a storm was coming had him on edge. As he reached his secret location for training he saw someone lying on the grass...

Maybe not so secret?

"Hinata?" he realizes who it is upon getting a close look, the scrapes on her fingers and palms and the pale complexion _"She must have been training"_ he thinks placing his palm on her forehead "I should wake her up" he mumbles shaking her slightly calling her name. She simply mumbles something and turns away from him "Deep sleeper" he smiles sitting down beside her "It would look weird if I brought her home in this state...plus the fact she came out here to train instead of using the many areas within the Hyuga house hold means she was avoiding something there.

 _-_Hinata's dream_-_

" _Me love you?" Naruto asks with a clearly insulted look "I am a genius prodigy and future Hokage...I won't settle for an average plain girl like you" he crosses his arms looking away before leaving her alone._

" _Hanabi has shown to be a much more worthy successor to the Hyuga family, she will take your place as heir" Hiashi says "I am ashamed to have someone like you as my child, just disappear before you cause me more grief!"_

" _I looked up to you sister, I can't believe how weak you are" Hanabi says "We should simply expel you from the clan since you aren't even worth starting a branch family with anyone" he laughs_

" _You are pathetic, my father died because of you!?"_

 _-_Dream end_-_

Her eyes shot open "Sorry!" she called out, her eyes snapped to the new location and then to her hands, her fingers had plasters on them and her palms had ointment coated over them.

"You're up huh, must have smelt the herbal tea I just finished brewing" her eyes widen recognizing the voice that belonged too, Naruto walked in with a Tea pot and a tray with two cups on it "Considering you slept all the way over to my house, through me cleaning your wounds and stubbing my toe" he grins at the last part pouring the tea into the cups and handing one to Hinata with the handle for her to take.

"H-How did you know where I was?" she asks blowing on the tea before taking a sip, her taste buds come to life with the spectacular taste from the cup "Wonderful" she sighs happily and Naruto smirks.

"I'm not much of a cook but I make great tea" he says "Anyway I found you because you were sleeping where I normally train in private" he says sitting on the table in front of her "Training for the Chunin exams?" he asks and she nods.

"Yeah, my father will be keeping an eye on the exams while deciding on who his heir will be" she explains "So I need to train hard and prove myself to him" she states, her eyes looked at the contents of her cup to avoid his gaze, _"Naruto must think I'm pathetic...he's so strong and it comes so easy for him"_ she thinks remembering her dream of Naruto rejecting her feelings and calling her plain.

"Hinata, these exams aren't a chance for you to prove anything to your dad, it's a chance for you to prove to yourself that you can protect this village" Naruto says "Don't live your life to please others, live it to make yourself happy" he smiles "Hell Sakura pretty much admitted her dream to marry Sasuke while he was sitting beside her" he laughs "I wouldn't mind a girl dreaming about marrying me" he stands up with the Tea pot and heads back into the Kitchen.

" _Naruto...would I be good enough for you?"_ she wonders watching him clean the cups, she never pictured he would be the kind of guy to clean up after himself. She was happy he found her, tending to her small injuries and making her tea gave her a nostalgic feeling from a long time ago when he stuck up for her. But now it was more, he wasn't the little boy she had a crush on...he was the young man she had fallen in love with and wished nothing more than to express her feelings to him here and now, however she wasn't ready. Naruto had shown he was truly on his way to becoming an important figure within the village and if she couldn't keep up then she couldn't confess.

"N-Naruto" she calls out and he walks in drying his hands "You're right, these exams are a chance for me to prove something to myself" she begins and he nods smiling "So...if I get promoted, will you meet me on the top of the Hokage Mountain?" she asks.

"Sure, but just so you know I could be in your way of promotion" he smirks and she nods with some confidence "Come on I'll walk you home, you should rest tomorrow and give your hands a break" he says heading for the door.

"Yes you're right" she says following him while looking at her palms, despite holding the hot cup the gel on her palm hadn't smudged but she could still feel the stinging pain from them _"Thank you Naruto"_ she smiles staring at his back.

* * *

 **Sasuke and Sakura**

* * *

They weren't dressed for a date to say the least, Sasuke was wearing pretty much what he always wears, minus his gear, however their Shinobi ID's earned them a nice discount at one of Konoha's most expensive restaurants. She could tell by his fidgeting that he was out of his comfort zone, _"Still dreamy though"_ she mentally sighed.

"So...um looking forward to the Exam's?" Sasuke asks and Sakura tilts her head, Sasuke wasn't much for small talk and if it didn't involve training then he wasn't really interested in it. "We should find Naruto and begin training for them as soon as possible" he adds.

"You're right" she nods, she would pry him for his hobbies and interests later, for now get him relaxed and in a talking mood. "These are the next step in us becoming more vital with the villages security right?" she asks and he nods "So, do you want to Join the Konoha Police force?" she asks and he shrugs.

"My father is commander so I expect he might offer me a sergeant position if I can get promoted to Chunin" he says "What do you plan to do after the exams?" he asks.

"Well, I've learned all I can from books so I think I will apply for an internship in the Hospital" Sakura says "It will mean less missions but I want to become a great medic" she states proudly and he smirks.

"I like that passion of yours, chasing a worthy goal" he says and she blushes at the compliment "I'm sure you can handle it" he adds seeing the waiter who took the orders coming with their meals.

"So...besides training, what else do you do for fun?" Sakura asks as they begin eating, she was surprised to hear Sasuke liked to cook, apparently he was closer to his mother while he was young and used to help her in the kitchen and picked it all up.

"We should cool something together then" she states with a smile, Sasuke grunts lightly pushing his plate in and finishing his water "Tell me Sakura, are you worried about the Chunin Exams?" he asks curiously, she proved herself on the mission but these exams would be a new test against Genin from other villages with who knows what kind of abilities.

"At first yes...but I refuse to believe there is someone stronger than you" she smiles and he chuckles "Naruto has the same strength as you but..." she pauses and he leans in genuinely curious "Naruto acts to spite his father, you're power comes from wanting to prove yourself...and that power will always win" she says and his eyes widen slightly.

" _She thinks so little of Naruto?"_ he thinks, he had felt the tension between the Hokage and his son but never figured it would be his motivation to be strong, "Well...it's late so I will walk you home" he says and she smiles

"Thanks"

* * *

 **Naruto**

* * *

It was pretty late and his parents were still out, so like any teen he began poking around his parent's room looking for something interesting. He found his moms old diary from when she was a little girl, some of the early entries where funny, talking about beating up boys for making fun of her hair or spouting about her dream about being Hokage "Close enough since you married the Hokage" he smirks flipping the page seeing something curious.

" _It's been a week since they sealed the beast in me, I feel it's presence lingering in my conscience trying to break free"_ the shaky looking text showed that his mom was sad and scared writing this entry. _"Is this what my life will be from now on? Minato has been great and supportive, but what can I offer him, how will the beasts Chakra affect our future children? Will I be capable of even having a child?"_ the stains from tears had creased the page

"What does this mean...what beast? Affect me how?" he mutters flipping the page, the date skipped ahead to a few days after he was born.

" _He's like a mini Minato, blue eyes blonde hair and a healthy complexion"_ the text described his mothers joy of his birth, he wondered why she hadn't written in the book for over 10 years but figured she must have been busy as a Kunoichi. _"The Fox Demon's influence was just whisker shaped birthmarks on his face, but they don't take away from his cuteness, he's my perfect little baby"_

"Demon Fox?" he hears the keys in the door and quickly puts the diary where he found it hopping out to window to pretend like he just got home himself.

"That was fun!" he hears his mom say, "We need to invite them over some time" she adds before yelling "Naruto made tea!" she really loved his tea, Naruto was full of questions right now however confronting his parents would likely lead to a fight...no he needed to know everything before confronting them

" _What are you hiding from me dad?"_

 **_A few days later_**

Over the week Genin and their Sensei's had begun arriving from the other nations, the older more experienced had been restricted to a part of town with no tactical advantage and any attempt of attack would be snuffed out fast.

The Hidden Cloud were watched by ANBU, Minato hadn't forgotten what they did, he didn't trust the Raikage, he met him in battle and believed him an honourable man...but he also remembered that the Cloud Village tried to kidnap Kushina once too and should have been more careful when handling the peace treaty but his eagerness for peace blinded him and they almost kidnapped Hinata. And Hiashi protecting his daughter cost him his younger twin brother when the Raikage demanded the death of Hiashi for killing the Shinobi threatening war.

Now Minato sat across from the current Raikage, the large muscular man sat across from him with his arms crossed, clearly unhappy with the treatment of his Shinobi "This is an outrage Hokage, having ANBU spy on my Shinobi alone is unwarranted" he says and Minato who is currently reading through the Chunin sheets glances at him.

"Forgive me Raikage but you have to understand, whenever Cloud Shinobi are in this village unnecessary accidents happen" he pauses "...and little girls are taken from their home" he adds with a cold tone. The Raikage could bullshit his way through the Hyuga fiasco but he couldn't tell him Kushina was a misunderstanding, and Ay knew this too.

"Those were times of war, you reached out to me looking to bring uneasy times to an end" the large man says looking at the forms, seeing Hinata's picture.

"And you used the opportunity to abduct a seven year old girl from her bed, and when you failed tried to kill her father" Minato retorts "I'll make it very clear to you Raikage, if you want your Shinobi to be eligible for promotion to Chunin then you agree to my terms of having the ANBU watch over them for the duration of their stay, or take them and go home" he says and the Raikage stands up

"You don't know who you are talking down too" he growls out with sparks coming from him, he wouldn't allow this foreign leader prevent his Genin from promoting.

"You don't scare me Ay, you never will so just sit down" Minato says and Ay breaths in as he sits "consider this a warning, should your village act out in any way during these exams then your village will be BANNED from competing on all future Chunin Exams" he says showing the signatures from the other Kage agreeing to these terms.

"I'll see myself out" Ay growls slamming the sheet on the table before storming out _"Minato has some spine...I almost respect him for it"_ Ay smirks seeing a blonde Genin who looked exactly like said Hokage storming towards the office.

Naruto ignored the abnormally large man in front of him as he burst into the room holding a piece of paper.

"Hello Naruto, come to tell me your answer?" he asks but his confused why his son looked so enraged, the sheet of paper caught his eye and seeing "Tailed Beasts" as part of the title made him worry, and his fear was confirmed when Naruto spoke a single sentence that sent a chill down his spine

"Mom is a Jinjuriki!"

* * *

 **The End**

* * *

 **I decided to save off the introductions to the Sand Siblings until the next chapter as that will truly be the start of the Exams.**

* * *

 **In the next chapter Naruto gives his father a piece of his mind before deciding on taking the promotion or not, the other Genin from the other villages cause trouble and the first test begins**

* * *

 **Till Next Time**

* * *

 _ **~DoTheBartMan**_


	8. Chapter 8

**I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR ITS CHARACTERS, I OWN THIS STORY AND ANY CHARACTERS I CREATE.**

* * *

 **Thanks for the reviews, just a warning to the people who like the Chunin exam arc...you may not like my spin on it...just warning you.**

* * *

 **Since I'm not big into the first series of Naruto I will be putting the Chunin Exams arc into a single chapter, the next chapter will be the Konoha Crush arc time skip leading to the start of the Shippuden era of Naruto.**

 **Lastly a note for fans of my "A Fresh Start" story, I am working on a chapter but to be honest it's not looking good**

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Chunin Exams  
** _ **Orochimaru arrives**_

* * *

Minato stared at his son with a look mixed of both shock and confusion; he could try and deny it however Naruto was too smart for that so...he decided to be honest "That is highly classified information...how did you get this information?" he asks calmly seeing Naruto's emotions rise

"Not even going to try an deny it!?" the young Genin yells

"Naruto this information is classified to the highest calibre, simply knowing without clearance can land you in the Strict Correctional Facility" he stands up seeing Naruto's eyes widen "How. Do. You. Know?" he says slower but firmer.

"Mom's diary, while I was waiting for you guys to come home I read it" he begins, Minato didn't believe Kushina would write something so dangerous "She made mentions of a Demon Fox so I went to the Library and began reading about the History of Konoha, Madara Uchiha used a Fox Demon to fight The 1st Hokage...it's the same fox right" he explains and Minato sighs flopping into his chair holding his face in his hands.

"Naruto, what gave you the right to go through your mothers things? What gave you the right to believe you are so entitled you should know everything? And what gives you the right to talk down to the Hokage?" each question makes Naruto shrink a little inside. He has never seen this look on his father's face before, a mixture of anger, disappointment and all in all distant.

"Sorry...Hokage" Naruto says in a last act of defiance however Minato quickly responds dowsing that flame.

"Apologies won't fix this, as far as your promotion is concerned, consider it withdrawn and if so much as a word of this leaves this office, I will fire you as an active Shinobi and sentence you to sometime in the Facility...are we clear?" Naruto nods quickly turning to leave

"Would you...have told me eventually?" Naruto finds himself having to ask for a little closure, Minato looks down.

"It's not my burden, so it's not my decision" Minato says and Naruto leaves the room closing the door behind him

What a mess

 **_The main street_**

"Quit picking on the kid" Temari says with a hint of arrogance rather than concern, they where quests in foreign lands and their Village currently had the weakest standing among the others.

"Hey the brat bumped into me and wont apologise" Kankuro retorts holding the kind in the air, "These kids with their warm sunny weather and soft looking village why are they held in such high regard?" he questions as a pebble hits his thumb causing a stinging pain which makes him flinch "ah! Who threw that?" he looks around to see Sasuke approaching with another stone in his hand casually tossing it into the air before catching it.

"Acting tough? You're a long way from home dork" Sasuke says with a confident look "You're here for the Exams so play nice then go back to the sand castle village you call a home" he states.

"You little shit" Kankuro growls gripping his strap over his shoulder preparing to attack before a blast of sand hits the back of his hand.

"Must you?" a new person says, cold eyes locked on Kankuro "You're a disgrace" he says standing in front of his teammates/siblings. "If you faced him...he's crush you, this is Sasuke Uchiha" the red head says suprising Sasuke about knowing his name "I am Gaara, these fools are Kankuro and Temari my siblings" he introduces himself.

"How do you know my name?" he asks and Gaara shows him a book with their names in it "A name sheet for the competing Genin" he says surprised.

"The Kage figured it would ease tension if all the Genin where on a name based relationship" Gaara says "Or to make it interesting if we have to fight to the death" that part sent a chill up Sasukes back.

" _This guy is dangerous...nothing like the other two"_ he thinks seeing Naruto heading towards him with a look that could kill.

"Sakura's meeting us at the Training grounds" he says walking past Gaara as the two shares a glance at the other before he continues on his walk towards the Team 7 Training field.

Sasuke drops the stone he was carrying before heading after Naruto ignoring the glare he got from Kankuro

"So that's the Hokage's son...he doesn't look all that impressive" Temari scoffs, Naruto's actions with the Mizukage had reached even Suna. He was building fame like his father but the boy she just saw was anything but inspiring.

"Be careful...he is likely to be the biggest obstacle in the goal" Kankuro says "Plus you are doing that eyebrow twitch thing you do when you find a cute guy" he smirks and Temari blushes smacking him across the back of his head

"If you two keep it up...I will kill you" Gaara warns ending the sibling squat _"Those eyes...are like mine"_

* * *

 **The Training field**

* * *

With Kakashi's help the three each had a new training regimen to follow for the next week and a half before the Chunin Exams started. Soon enough the night before the exams was upon them and Naruto was preparing his pack accordingly, since the instructor told the group of Genin that passing the first 2 exams would mean they wouldn't be home for 5 days.

"Naruto" he turned to see his mother standing in the door way, she had been avoiding him since he learned the truth and figured his dad must have told her about his snooping. "How's the packing going?" she asks trying to see into the bag from the door. She was aware what Naruto would face in the exams, having completed them herself. As furious as she was with Naruto she couldn't let her son head off to face these trails without giving her support.

"Just finished actually" he says returning his gaze to the bag closing it over "Hopefully it will be enough" he says lifting the bag and placing it on his desk. "Dinner ready?" he asks and she shakes her head.

"We haven't talked about you snooping around in my stuff" she says and he pauses "But we will...once the Chunin exams are over, got it?" her tone changed from neutral to full on disappointed parent.

"Yeah..."

* * *

 **The Following morning**

* * *

Haku and Shisui where getting ready to begin their trip to the site of the future Police branch they would be working/living for the foreseeable future, the short time in the village gave the former rouge ninja some perspective. "Don't worry, you'll be hoping back and forth from here to the new base, so... think of it as an extended vacation" The Uchiha says with a grin.

"I understand, it's safer to have me far from the village in case I turn rouge again" Haku says rather distantly, he now wore to attire of a Konoha Shinobi but deep down he was an outsider.

"My dad doesn't think that way" they see Naruto standing at the gates waiting to see them off "He truly has accepted you into the village, but he believes you owe the people in the Land of Waves for all the bad things you did" he walks towards them taking a piece of fabric from his pocket and handing it to Haku "Earn it" he simply says heading into the village.

Haku looks at the Headband with the Leaf symbol on it and smiles _"I will"_

 **_A Few hours later_** (Chunin Exams Start)

 _ **Stage 1**_

The first challenge was a test with 9 difficult questions, it was clear that the actual goal of this challenge was to test Intel gathering, the applicants were meant to cheat to get the answers, however they weren't allowed to be seen cheating otherwise you failed, Sasuke quickly figured out which of the Genin was actually a plant and copied his pen movements using his Sharingan, Sakura being the natural genius she is already knew the answers...which worked out for Ino and her team as she swapped minds with the Pink haired Kunoichi to get the answers for her and her team. Naruto on the other hand was at a disadvantage, he knew a few answers but not them all and he wasn't much for intel-gathering in the first place, sitting beside him was Hinata who was trying to help him but he couldn't look to her without getting caught.

Soon time ran out and Ibiki threw down the gauntlet, many teams had already failed "The final question comes with it's on rule" the scared man begins "Should a member of your team fail to answer this question then the whole team fails, however if you get the question wrong then you are banned from the Chunin exams and will remain Genin for the rest of your life" he says and a few people gasp "For those of you unwilling to risk hear the question then leave the room the exam is over for you and your team" he says, it doesn't take long for the weaker willed members of teams to quit even at the expense of their teammates. Once the heard had been thinned Ibiki smirks "To those who stayed, congratulations you have passed the first round" he says suprising the Genin "The Shinobi life will never offer you a break, those who would abandon a mission and risk their team are not ready to count themselves among the elites of their village, simply choosing to answer means you pass this round.

"Kind of makes the first 9 questions obsolete" Naruto sighs wondering why he was worried at all, he Sasuke and Sakura move so they are sitting beside each other as do the other teams, the three shared a brief nod and smirk with pride passing the first stage

"Make no mistake, from here on out your abilities will be tested, when the next Procter gets here she will" he is cut off by a purple haired woman bursting through the window holding a banner saying "Second stage Procter Anko Mitarashi!" in large writing.

"Congratulations little brats!" she grins brightly, opening her eyes to the stunned room "D-Did I jump the mark?"

 _ **Stage 2**_

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura where deep into the Forest of Death or Forty-Fourth Training Ground, Anko had explained that the goal of this trial was to obtain the opposite scroll they were given at the start titled Earth or Heaven Scroll. Once achieved they needed to make their way to the building located in the center of the forest, this guaranteed at least half of the teams would be eliminated. Rules were simple; you were only to open the scrolls together as opening one on its own meant disqualification, also they had 5 days to complete the task.

"Man had I known we would be in a forest I would have packed a tent" Sakura sighs, while Naruto and Sasuke had packed for combat her pack consisted of food and first aid with very few weapons.

"Sakura you're a medic, leave the fighting to me and Sasuke" Naruto says washing his face in a lake, "Once we have the other scroll we will be heading into the building so best try and only spend the night" he adds standing up. He thought about camping around the building and simply attacking a team heading there but it was likely many teams with the same idea which meant it would be a blind scramble for scrolls, better to simply find teams on the move.

"Yeah, the faster we finish this the more time we have to prepare for the final stage" Sasuke says "I have a feeling the last stage will pit Genin against each other so the more rest we have between stages the better we will be" he throws his bag over his shoulder.

Sakura nodded, she was glad her teammates were so prepared for these exams. Her goal was to apply for an internship at the Konoha hospital but Sasuke and Naruto needed her, but if Sasuke was right then maybe she would be able to dropout with a clear conscience and apply for her internship.

A few hours in an all they had managed to find where teams with the Heaven scroll which were no good, Naruto opted to burn the scrolls to prevent other teams from using them thus eliminating the chances of more teams passing the round.

"So...what scroll do you guys have?" Naruto says searching through the bags of the unconscious team "Shit another Heaven Scroll" he sighs throwing it into the forest.

"Maybe it's an act; maybe all the scrolls are the same" Sasuke jokes taking the food from the other team's bags putting it in his own.

"Our team has an earth scroll" they turn to see a team from the hidden Grass village which was a smaller cousin to the Leaf. The guy in the middle who seems to be the leader regurgitated his teams' scroll which was indeed an Earth scroll.

"You couldn't use a bag like a normal guy huh...honestly don't know if I want it" Naruto says with a cringe face as Sasuke steps forward with his Sharingan active.

"This guy is no Genin" he says suprising his teammates, the Grass ninja laughs as his teammates turn into snakes "Who are you?"

"I am Orochimaru, a former Konoha Shinobi" he says pulling the skin from his face revealing his true appearance.

"You're one of the legendary Sannin...the one who defected" Naruto pulls out a Raijin Kunai "What are you doing here?" he asks taking a defensive stance.

"I am a man who desires learning every Jutsu there is...but in order to accomplish that I need something from you...Sasuke Uchiha" he points to the raven haired teen "Your Sharingan to be exact" he grins. "Long ago I tried to obtain your brothers eyes but those gems are out of my reach but a nursling like you should provide adequate eyes" his grin turns malicious.

"Come and try freak" Sasuke says activating his Sharingan, He and Naruto charge the Sannin while Sakura watches from behind. She had come a long way since the days at the academy but this opponent was out of her league.

However in truth he was out of Naruto and Sasuke's league as well but there was little else to do but fight, however perhaps they could hold him off until one of the ANBU who were patrolling this area could warn Minato. "Indeed you two are no doubt the cream of the crop of this generation, but you are nothing but children with no war experience" The Snake Sannin states while effortlessly countering their attacks. Even Naruto's Flying Raijin was no match for him, another problem was the fact Orochimaru's experienced eyes were beginning to see the blonde's flaws "So unlike Minato your teleportation isn't instantaneous, you need at least 3 seconds to Teleport, while it may be a small gap" he pauses to dodge a Kunai "It makes you predictable" he says driving his fist into the stomach of the reappearing Naruto causing the blonde to cough up blood as he is sent flying into a tree.

"Naruto" his teammates call out as he tries to get back on his feet but he falls back to the ground, Sasuke charges at the Sannin before being knocked back as well however he flips mid air forming the **Tiger** Hand Sign " **Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu** " he exhales the large fire ball shooting it towards the surprised Sannin.

Jumping he dodges the attack "Impressive, as expected from an Uchiha" he comments seeing many wire threaded Shuriken surrounding him before he is forcefully tied to a tree _"I can't move"_ he thinks seeing all the threads lead to a few in Sasukes mouth as he forms the **Snake, Dragon, Rabbit, Tiger** Hand Signs " **Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu** " he exhales another Fire based Jutsu, the flames take on the head of a dragon shooting down the wire like a guide as the engulf Orochimaru.

Suddenly Orochimaru appears behind Sasuke biting down on his neck causing the young Uchiha to scream in agony as a mark appears on his neck "This should keep you from causing a fuss" he says turning to the final member of Team Kakashi.

"What did you do to Sasuke" Sakura pulls out a Kunai from her pouch, her tone was tough and she stood her ground but even a novice could see through her and see her for how terrified she is.

"I placed a curse seal on him, now he is connected to me, and soon all his negative emotions will flare up and he will seek me out to get stronger" he says approaching her. Soon a Kunai lands between them and a second later Minato appears between them.

"How did you know I was here?" Minato hears the Sannin ask, Minato ignored his question seeing his son barely conscious, he also could see the Curse mark on Sasuke _"Damn it...I got here too late"_ he thinks throwing several Kunai at Orochimaru who was surprised by the speed in which the Kunai appeared.

He is thrown back when Minato appears behind him hitting him in the center on his back with a Rasengan "Stay down you damn snake" he says standing over the Sannin as several ANBU appear, however Orochimaru sheds his current form disappearing into the ground.

"What should we do Lord Yondaime?" one of the ANBU ask and Minato sighs

"Gather the Genin, its likely Orochimaru isn't finished with whatever he's planning" he says and ANBU Vanish to round the others up and escort them somewhere safe.

"L-Lord Hokage" he turns to see a teary eyed Sakura looking at him, all her courage abandoned her the moment he appeared through a mixture of relief and worry for her team.

"Don't worry Sakura" he says with a reassuring smile placing his hand on her head, he gathered Sasuke and Naruto and placed them beside Sakura "Hold onto Sasuke" he instructs and she takes a hold of his hand. Next thing she sees is the reception of the Hospital, "Nurse get two beds ready for these two" he instructs

Sakura watched the Doctors get to work; she was amazed by their speed and reaction to the sudden arrival of the Hokage. However her nerves where still shaken and it was pretty obvious, so Minato decided to help cal her by sharing a small story.

"Naruto was two weeks early than expected; I remember every hiccup and sneeze I would come running to this place to the point where I marked it with my Raijin formula to save time" he looks at the young girl who was smiling at the image of the stoic Hokage panicking over a simple sneeze "I've fought in wars yet becoming a father has been the biggest challenge of my life...so rest your fears Sakura, you're life is only getting started" where his words of wisdom to the pink haired girl which surprisingly did calm her down and soon she was doing her best to help the doctors with her comrades.

It didn't take long for Naruto to recover, he had a slight headache but other than that he was fine and sitting across from his dad "Orochimaru killed Genin and took their place didn't he?" Naruto asks and the Hokage nods "Why?"

"Orochimaru was once a candidates to be Yondaime Hokage" Minato states "Once I was chosen over him by lord Third Orochimaru defected from the Village...it wasn't long after that we discovered the heinous experiments he had been doing on children, there are only two survivors known, an ANBU and a Tokubetsu Jonin" he sighs looking out the window "I heard rumours he started his own village called the Sound Village...Jiraiya Sensei has been uncovering details about the village" he pauses "That's why I've cancelled the Chunin exams, it's likely he's brought Shinobi with the plan to invade" he finishes seeing his son analyse the information in his head.

"If that's true then it's likely he's working with another Village" Naruto states suprising Minato "I mean you've only been Hokage like 13 years right? There is no way Orochimaru has established a strong enough village to attack 1 of the 5 major villages" he points out.

"Your son has the right idea lord Hokage" they both see Danzo standing in the door, Minato quickly dismisses his son to return to the hospital to check up on his team, "And he is accurate" the man adds once their alone placing a photo on the table; it was Orochimaru meeting the Kazekage.

"Suna...but Rasa has never been interested in conquest, in fact he has often spoke about forming an alliance with Konoha to strengthen both Villages" Minato comments, he found it hard to believe Rasa would work with a criminal and risk his villages reputation.

"In this world each Village is looking out for their own...it's not something to be held against them" Danzo begins gaining Minato's attention, mainly because it wasn't his usual propaganda "Suna's economy is constantly in danger of dropping, without the land each of the other four nations they would starve...they barely make anything in trade, this is their only option to survive" he states

"Double the ANBU patrols...but don't make a move until Orochimaru plays his hand...because if we're wrong it could lead to another war...and I'd prefer not to be the instigator"

* * *

 **The hospital**

* * *

Sakura sat beside Sasuke the whole time, even when his parents and brother came. They didn't have the heart to force her out after all she's done to help him, looking in her eyes they could see what Sasuke meant to her. So they all sat around, watching as the unconscious boy's eyes fluttered as he dreamed, and judging by the look he was having a nightmare.

"Damn that snake...I'll kill him for harming my son" Fugaku says with anger, though his face was calm Itachi too intended to hunt Orochimaru down, however Itachi's goal was removing that curse which according to Kushina was only possible if Orochimaru did it.

"S-Sakura" all eyes looked at Sasuke, his hand was reaching out and Sakura took a hold of it which seemed to calm him down.

"Be careful" they hear Naruto say as he stood at the door "I've heard that Curse Mark reacts to Chakra...who knows when it will be set off" he adds turning to Fugaku "The Hokage wanted to speak to you lord Fugaku" he says and the Uchiha clan leader nods "Judging from his expression he wanted you to hurry before he and Danzo got into an argument" he adds and the man smirks leaving the room.

"So you're all better after the encounter?" Mikoto asks and the blonde nods, she smiles at the blonde haired boy _"He really is the image of his father...but I can see you in him too Kushina"_ she smiles.

 **_The following Morning_**

Peaceful commerce continued in the Village Hidden in the Leafs, people talked casually and the overall warm feel made what came next truly a shock. It started with the sound of blades colliding in the air; bodies began dropping in the streets causing panic which soon erupted as a massive explosion took place in the center of the village which a massive three headed snake hissed into action tearing through buildings.

"At last Konoha" Orochimaru says standing atop the Hokage Mountain

"Your end has come"

* * *

 **The End**

* * *

 **Once again I am sorry for those who liked the first series of Naruto but I began with Shippuden and only watched the first series to fill in the plot I didn't understand. I hope you enjoyed this chapter none the less...**

* * *

 **In the next chapter Konoha Crush and romances begin to blossom**

 **Until Next Time**

* * *

 _ **~DoTheBartMan**_


	9. Chapter 9

**I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR ITS CHARACTERS, I OWN THIS STORY AND ANY CHARACTERS I CREATE.**

* * *

 **Thanks for the reviews**

 **The Next chapter will be the time skip**

* * *

 **Chapter 09: Comradery**

 _ **Path to our Future**_

* * *

Minato coordinated Genin and told them to evacuate the villagers to the shelter within the Hokage Mountain; of course he was aware Orochimaru knew about this plan for when the Village was attacked and had been guarding the path the townspeople were taking. Seeing their Hokage gave the people a sense of relief, his presence alone calmed their nerves despite the ensuing battle around them. So far however only Sound and Sand Shinobi had attacked him, wondering where Orochimaru himself was he saw a huge purple barrier appear atop the arena where the finals of the Chunin Exams would have taken place.

" _So Orochimaru was after Lord Third"_ Minato thinks seeing his predecessor fighting his Sannin student, _"Then I need to find Rasa and make him stop this madness"_ he thinks rushing off once the place was secure.

 **_Sakura_**

She was surrounded, 3 Sound Genin had broke into the hospital to take Sasuke away as ordered by the Snake, "Just hand him over girl" Zaku says/orders, they couldn't cause a commotion and attract attention, however Sakura couldn't either out of fear of hurting other patients. It was a stalemate...however Sakura was still at the disadvantage in numbers.

" _I need to get Sasuke out of here...if I can find Itachi"_ she think pulling out a smoke bomb and using it to blind them all, the three Sound Shinobi went straight for the window but Sakura went through the door, Sasuke's weight slowed her down _"If only I had super strength or something"_ she thinks slugging along with the unconscious Uchiha draped over her back.

"Nice try but you have now made this a whole lot easier" Dosu says, Sakura see's she is already surrounded once again "Now we can kill you and take Sasuke for Lord Orochimaru" he adds.

"Sakura" she hears Sasuke say into her ear "Put me down and run" he states "I'll deal with these clowns" he says as he gets to his feet.

"No, I'll stay and help...Kakashi Sensei has been teaching me a Jutsu or two to defend myself" She says and Sasuke simply nods, trusting her decision. The battle quickly begins to favour of the Sound Genin, their unique Sound related Jutsu countered Sasuke's Fire Style and Sakura's Water style wasn't as developed as she thought and before long she and Sasuke were pinned down.

The boys held Sasuke who had already begun to pass out from the pain, the curse mark had severely weakened him thus making him easier to defeat.

Kin Tsuchi smirked griping Sakura's bangs "Take a good look at him pinkie, when Lord Orochimaru gets his hand on this little cutie he will take his eyes and all his chakra, discarding the body like trash" she laughs.

"Sasuke isn't...trash" Sakura says gripping her Kunai using it to cut her hair and thus free herself from Kin's grip, she uses the momentum to push Dosu and Zaku off Sasuke "He's more a Shinobi than you three could ever be" she declares much to their annoyance.

Zaku uses the air cannons in his hands to blow Sakura off of Sasuke causing her to smash into a tree "Bitch" he leans over to grab Sasuke; however a massive blue aura surrounds Sasuke sending the Sound Genin flying back.

Sasuke stands to his feet as black markings cover his body, his blazing Sharingan eyes focus on Sakura "Who hurt you Sakura?" he asks in a dark tone as the pink haired girl looks on in horror.

" _This isn't Sasuke"_ she thinks watching as her Uchiha Teammate completely demolished the three Sound Genin in front of him, however his attacks were also dealing damage to himself as his bones where crumbling under the weight of this malicious Chakra. "Sasuke you need to stop" she lunged at him hugging him from behind as Dosu dropped to the ground, blood dripped from Sasuke's knuckles as he had destroyed his hands beating the three invading Genin to near death.

"Sakura I..." he passes out as a new hand places a sheet of paper over the curse mark causing it to retract, Sakura's eyes widen when she recognises the hand as Naruto's.

"I'm sorry I'm late...I was helping villagers evacuate when I felt" he stops as Sakura hugs him "...You're amazing Sakura" he simply says returning the hug. Naruto tied up the Sound Genin, he thought about simply killing them however he figured they would have Intel on Orochimaru's village.

"Sasuke's injuries are bad...but I should be OK from here" she comments and Naruto glances at her, his eyes widen seeing her hair was jagged from being cut with a Kunai but decides to say nothing "You should help defend the village" she says and he snaps out of his thoughts nodding forming two shadow clones

"Help her get Sasuke somewhere safe so she can treat him" he says and they nod, Naruto runs off to meet up with his father who was hunting down the Kazekage who had been rather absent from the invasion. Naruto had heard stories about Rasa and his powerful Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai title "Gold Dust" which was said to be feared throughout the five elemental countries.

 **_A little while later_**

Naruto stops seeing Minato talking with a Suna Jonin "Naruto good, I was hoping you'd show up" the Hokage says motioning his hand to the Suna Shinobi "This is Baki, a Jonin from Suna who has brought me some disturbing news" he says as Baki steps forward

"Orochimaru killed our Kazekage...weeks ago it looks like, and he's been manipulating our council into attacking the Leaf" Baki says shocking Naruto "I was leading the team that are the main power in the attack, the Sand sibling trio" he states and Naruto figures it must be the Sand Genin Sasuke was fighting before the exams. "Gaara...the red head is out Villages Jinjuriki...Orochimaru plans to use Shukaku to devastate the village and lead our nations into all out war"

"So...to end this fight we need to stop Gaara from what...transforming?" Naruto asks and Minato talks a piece of paper from his pocket, it was another sealing tag but the seal seemed to be for Jinjuriki. He didn't need to ask, it was clearly his mothers work to counter Kyuubi in case it ever got loose.

"Baki is gathering up the Suna Shinobi and pulling them out, all that is left is the Sound and Orochimaru" Minato says "I will stay in the village and try and help Lord Third" he places his hand on Naruto's shoulders "I've already sent Shikamaru and Shino after the Sand siblings...you're the only Shinobi who can catch up with them" he says and Naruto nods running off

.

"Good luck...Naruto"

* * *

 **The Forrest**

* * *

Gaara had already begun to transform into the Tailed Beast, he had taken on a form similar to Shukaku only much smaller, "You're all worms!" the red head growls "I'll kill you all" he lashes out at Temari.

"Gaara...I-It's your sister" she says and Gaara laughs evilly as he lashes out to attack again only for Shikamaru to arrive in time to halt his movements with the Nara signature Jutsu

" **Kagemane no Jutsu"** Shikamaru stands up maintaining his focus "Complete, and just in time too" he looks at Temari who was leaning against a tree.

"Come to kill us and weaken Suna?" she questions and Shikamaru scoffs which seems to annoy her greatly.

"Your Sensei Baki and Lord Forth sent us after you" Shikamaru says as tiny bugs swarm Gaara to begin devouring the One Tails leaked Chakra "It seems your village was tricked by Orochimaru" he explains seeing her confused expression "Look I'm not sure what I can and cannot say but Baki said he was gathering the Suna Shinobi at the "Meeting place where the Sand and Leaf connect"...I assume you know what he's talking about" he says and she nods

"Wait...why are you not trying to Kill Gaara, his death would weaken our village" Kankuro states still defensive, it was hard to digest all this considering an hour ago they were the key to an invasion.

"That's not how our Hokage likes to operate...this boy is a victim of generations of Shinobi fearing the Tailed beasts" Shino states "Our village doesn't operate that way" he adds as Gaara roars breaking free sending them all flying back

"I'll crush you all!" Gaara snarls aiming for Shikamaru, Temari jumps in front of him swinging her fan blocking his attack "You traitor!" she cringes at his baby brothers anger filled voice

"Why did you protect me, it was your chance to get away" Shikamaru comments and Temari looks over her shoulder with a smug look

"I can't leave a helpless boy like you after all, I owed you for earlier" she says smirking at his annoyed look and his comment about her being "Troublesome".

The four team up trying to pin Gaara down, however he regenerates all wounds leaving little openings, each time he healed he grew in size as well, he was close to becoming completely transformed. "What's taking him so long" Shikamaru says allowed confusing Temari and Kankuro, Gaara soon has them cornered and prepares to finish them off

"DIE!" he roars as the group brace for the blow, only to see a Flying Raijin Kunai appear in front of them, Naruto appears gripping the handle with his left hand as his right formed a Rasengan which he drove straight into Gaara's Stomach, a mark appeared on Gaara's stomach as he was sent flying back hitting the trees behind him, before he can heal Naruto teleports in front of the Jinjuriki placing the seal on the mark he made.

The sand which had been forming Shukaku broke apart as the Tailed Beasts Chakra was suppressed back within the Red head "T-Temari...Kankuro?" he calls out as Naruto stares down with a dark look gripping a kunai and Raising it above is head

 __Flashback__

 _Naruto ran through the forest, it didn't take him long to make up the distance he needed. However he halts seeing Danzo standing in his way "Minato has asked for you to re seal the 1 tail right?" he asks and Naruto nods "Noble man, your father but this action isn't the solution, Suna may have been tricked but that will bring little comfort to the families who have lost their loved ones today" he comments and Naruto looks at him with a confused look._

" _What are you suggesting?" Naruto asks, Danzo kept a straight face but his eye gave him away; it seems Naruto asked what he wanted him to ask._

" _Kill Suna's Jinjuriki Naruto" Danzo states "If you do then Suna's military strength will be severely weakened, making sure they will never regain the strength to try an act like this again" he explains "Besides...Do you think Suna would spare your mother?" he asks seeing Naruto's angered look "To them she is but a source of Konoha's military strength...you must view this Gaara as the same and do away with him...this is what it means to protect the village as a Shinobi"_

 __Flashback end__

Naruto held his Kunai up looking down at the confused red head that was defenceless since the seal also prevented him from melding Chakra "If the roles were reversed...your village would do the same" he states darkly as the four behind him ran towards them to stop Naruto

"I just want to be loved!" Gaara says weakly with tears in his eyes "Is that so wrong!" he pointlessly lifted his hands to defend himself looking into the eyes of the blonde haired Genin.

Naruto could feel his own eyes starting to tear up, now that he knew about his mother he knew people would try and use her like Orochimaru used Gaara...and he didn't have an answer to stop it, he couldn't protect his mom from her destiny as a Jinjuriki. The only words in his head where Danzo's _"This is the way to protect our village...this is the path of a Shinobi!"_ He swings his Kunai down

" _NARUTO!"_ he pauses hearing Hinata call out to him, her voice sounded like she was screaming for him not to follow through with Danzo's order, like she was showing him it was wrong. The four spectators halt seeing Naruto stand up offering his hand. "I'm sorry; I almost let my emotions get the better of me" he says to the red head who takes his hand albeit suspiciously.

"Kankuro, Temari...what's going on?" Gaara asks, they fill him in and he seems to follow better than his siblings did "So...our father is dead" he says with no emotion "It's hard to feel sad after all the attempts he tried to have me killed" he states suprising the Leaf Genin.

"Gaara...Kankuro and I feel awful, we were so afraid of you and Dad we let you struggle through life alone and scared...I'm so sorry" Temari says and Kankuro nods in agreement.

"We failed to be the family mom would have wanted" the Puppet user sighs thinking back to their deceased mother and Gaara looks away...

"It's not too late for that family to be true" Gaara says suprising his siblings "...I'm sorry for how I treated you" he says and they turn to the leaf Shinobi...who at this point where all looking in different directions to avoid the awkward tension they were feeling at seeing this display "Naruto Namikaze...Thank you for stopping me...and for sparing my life" Gaara says and Naruto nods.

"I shouldn't have acted like that but the whole situation has had me on edge" Naruto says _"Why did I hear Hinata calling out to me..."_ he wonders, soon after a little more chatting the Sand Siblings departed to meet up with the rest of their Comrades.

"What now?" Shikamaru asks, Naruto shrugs suggesting they head back to the village...just then he sees 2 Sound Shinobi run across from them carrying Hinata. Without giving Shikamaru or Shino a chance to follow he burst after the enemy Shinobi.

"Hinata!"

* * *

 **Sasuke and Sakura**

* * *

His eyes opened to see the clear blue sky, he could feel the familiar warm sensation that came from Sakura's Healing Jutsu "S...Sakura?" he calls out and she leans over so he could see her face.

"That Curse mark Orochimaru put on you activated...apparently it reacts to your chakra" she says seeing his hand reach up to where the mark is "You've done a lot of damage to your bones but thankfully Naruto showed up in time to seal the Mark" she says and he looks at her

"You hugged me..." he says and she gasps slightly "Everything went black...and cold, then I heard your voice and...then you hugged me and it all went away" he says with a small smile "The Curse mark amplified all my negative feelings and made me a monster...but you were able to break through and bring me back...I wonder why" he says mumbling his words clearly suffering from a head related injury.

"We're comrades" she smiles closing her eyes, she has admitted her feelings to him before with little acknowledgement from him and being on a team with him made her realize why. Sasuke connects to stronger people and would never give her a passing thought if she remained the same person who confessed to him like a foolish fan girl she was, but now her feeling had matured and she could believe without a shadow of doubt that she was in love with him. _"Now I can worth to grow stronger and stand beside you as an equal...then I will tell you my feelings and hope you see me the same way, even if it's just a little"_

Her eyes open when she feels something press against her forehead, her eyes widen when she sees Sasuke has pressed his middle and index fingers against her head softly with a weak smile "When did you surpass me?" was all he muttered as he lost consciousness again.

She stared at him dumbfounded at his comment ...maybe she was closer to being his equal than she thought.

 **_Naruto_**

He close's the gap between himself and the two Sound Shinobi carrying the Hyuga Heiress, _"These guys are fast"_ Naruto thinks summoning two Raijin Kunai. He throws one past them appearing in front before throwing the other Kunai towards the guy holding Hinata. Appearing in front of the man before they can truly comprehend what's happening, Naruto cuts one down and kicks the other away and catching Hinata as she was about to fall in one swift movement _"No notable injuries...must be a Genjutsu"_ he thinks, _"So Orochimaru is after both Sharingan and Byakugan"_ he places her down "Best finish off!" his eyes widen at the sharp pain in his thigh, the burning sensation of a Kunai piercing his flesh.

"No teleporting for you" the masked Sound Shinobi says as Naruto drives his fist into the face knocking him out, the other man comes into view "Lord Orochimaru told us about you, unlike The Forth Hokage you need to focus to teleport, so that injury will keep you in my sight" he smirks as Naruto drops a Kunai at Hinata.

"I am grateful to Orochimaru...he has shown my weakness to you" he smirks "Which means I have to overcome them to protect Hinata...and I will" he declares as he charges towards the Sound Shinobi with as much force as his good leg could propel him forward.

The Sound Shinobi takes a step back, drawing Naruto away from Hinata before he would make his move. "You have the potential to become a powerful Shinobi, but you are still Naive and lack the experience" he says charging at Naruto, however as they were about to collide the Sound-Nin feints to the left running past Naruto "A Shinobi doesn't let anything come between him and his mission!" he laughs "I only need her eyes so I'll remove her head from her body" he says lunging at the girl with his blade.

Naruto appears in front of the man burying his Kunai into the shocked Nin's chest "I-I don't recall ever needing 100% health to transport" Naruto coughs out "Now whose naive?" he smirks as blood pours from the corner of his mouth.

"B-Bastard" where the final words of the Sound Nin as he slumps to the ground, Naruto stands victorious...however he grips his side as blood pours from the wound inflicted when he intercepted the attack saving Hinata from the blow.

He walks over to her, sitting down against the tree lifting her head onto his lap "Release!" he says undoing the Genjutsu she was trapped under, her eyes open seeing the blonde staring at her "Y-You were under a powerful Genjutsu...give your body a moment to adjust" he slurs.

Her eyes widen as she sees the wounds "You need aid" she says sitting up as the hand Naruto had resting on her forehead slumps to the ground beside him, he no longer had the energy to lift it. She tries to compress the serious wound in his side "Naruto stay awake" she instructs, her shyness was gone, seeing Naruto near death enabled her to break through her introverted personality "Talk to me" she says taking some of her clan's ointment and rubbing it over the wound.

"You're eyes..." he slurs "That day I protected you from the bullies...your eyes looked like pearls, beautiful pearls...I'd never thought something so breathtaking could be real" his words where sincere but he was clearly delirious from blood loss "Mom wants me to find a girl like her...but I" he is cut off by Hinata.

"I always watched you train, you inspired me to improve but I never was able to get strong like you...maybe when you get better we can train together?" she doesn't look at him as she wraps the wound up "You always give excellent training advice maybe you could help me develop a training routine" she suggests.

"I'd rather go on a date" he says and her eyes widen "Maybe get some Ramen, walk in the park...or just relax by the lake" his eyes begin to close "I'm tired..." he mumbles passing out

"Naruto wake up" Hinata calls out but her pleas fall on deaf ears...

"Naruto!"

* * *

 **Aftermath**

* * *

In the village the battle came to an end, Minato defeated the giant snake as the barrier around Hiruzen came to an end. They arrived to see Orochimaru had escaped with the help of his elite team; an ANBU informed them the Third Hokage perished sealing away Orochimaru's arms thus robbing him of his Jutsu. The remainder of the Sound Shinobi committed Suicide to avoid capture; there were many casualties on both sides. Suna surrendered a few days after the commotion had died down, Minato was relieved to accept their surrender which brought an end to the invasion before it escalated to all out war. Danzo and the other councillors were angry at Minato not wishing to pursue anything from Suna in terms of the surrender, however Minato had told them that all this occurred thanks to a Rouge Shinobi from Konoha and it had cost both sides enough blood.

Rebuilding didn't take long, many Genin who avoided fighting had been assigned to aiding in the rebuilding of the Hospital so the Injured could receive treatment...speaking of injured,

 **_The Hospital with Naruto_**

Naruto's eyes flickered open, he could hear the familiar sound of a heart monitor beeping which was a good sign he wasn't dead "Naruto" he turns seeing the relieved look of his mother holding his hand in her own "Thank god you're awake" she says with tears in her eyes, judging by her reaction he must have been out for a while.

"Take it easy" Minato says seeing his son attempting to sit up "Your wounds aren't completely closed, too much stress could re-open them" he adds and Naruto nods but still sit's up.

"Hinata?" Naruto says with a husky-rough tone reaching for the jug of water beside him, Minato takes the jug and pours a glass for him.

"She and her team are helping with the re-building of the Village" Minato says handing Naruto the glass "When Shikamaru and Shino managed to get word to me, I found Hinata drenched in your blood trying to keep you awake" he says and Naruto looks away "You saved each other that day" he adds

"It took her a few days to say anything...for a long time she looked at her hands" Kushina chimes in "Your father gave her that mission to help her get her mind off the ordeal" she explains and Naruto nods "Still, she came by every day to check up on you, fluffing your pillow, changing the flowers in the vase" she smiles seeing her son blush."

"So, what happened to Orochimaru?" Naruto asks looking at his dad to fill him in with what he has missed; Minato goes into as much detail as he was able too, mainly about the Shinobi lost. Naruto's expression turned sad after hearing about Hiruzen, which is why when he said what he said came as a shock to his parents "I want to leave Konoha for a while" he states with a determined expression.

"What's brought this on?" Minato asks seeing Kushina's horror filled eyes... "I mean why do you want to all of a sudden?"

"When I was sitting against that tree, feeling weaker every moment...I wondered if I was too young to have any regrets" Naruto says looking at the bed sheets with a serious expression "Then I remembered that the last conversation I had with my mom was about a betrayal of her trust...and the last conversation with my dad was anger at my actions...and how you both looked disappointed in me as a son" he looks up to Minato and Kushina who had decided to listen to their son "That's why I need to leave the Village, I want to find my path in the world and I can't if I remain here because I'll keep resenting myself for simply following the path others have placed me on...you know"

"And you need to go alone?" he asks, he had thought of Naruto going with Jiraiya on one of his 'research' trips but Naruto nods meaning he would not want to go with the Toad Sannin. This wasn't a demand but a request; Naruto was beginning to look past his own problems and was now focusing on the world "How long?" he asks seeing Kushina giving him a look of concern

"I don't know...A year...maybe 2" Naruto says softly, he looks at his mom who had been silent through all this "I love you both...I don't say it, but when I think about how much I'm seen as your son...it makes me feel like I'll never get to be my own person" he says tightening his grip with her hands "And it's not like I won't write...we share a summon after all" he smiles "...Thanks to Grandpa Jiraiya" he grins feeling his mom trying to crush his hand with her own as she hated when Naruto called him that and knew he was teasing her slightly.

Kushina smiled looking at Minato "Our baby is growing up" is what she said hugging his head ruffling his hair, Minato takes this as Kushina consenting to Naruto's request.

"How about this Naruto" Minato begins "For the first few months you stay with Jiraiya, then if you feel you still need to go off on your own you can, provided you keep in touch with us both regularly" he says listing his demands which also included Naruto carrying one of his father's Kunai so Minato could teleport to Naruto if he stopped contacting them...

 **_Sasuke and Naruto a week later_**

"So...two year trip?" Sasuke whistles as the two stands by the lake in their training field, because of his broken wrist he had been unable to train which bothered him since Sakura was training with the Sannin Tsunade Senju and Naruto was going on a journey with Jiraiya for a time before going off on his own. "I need to do some serious training to prevent myself from falling behind you and Sakura" he states as Naruto remembers something he saw.

"Speaking of Sakura, I saw her coming out of the salon with shorter hair...I figured she grew it out to appease you" Naruto smirks and Sasuke sighs.

"So you've heard about that old rumour too" he says "I don't know where the idea that I like girls with long hair came from" he shakes his hair "I prefer Sakura's hair now" he adds and Naruto laughs

"Does she know that?" the blonde asks and Sasuke coughs covering his blush, the two stare blankly at each other as the realization that they were talking like two normal boys would before the two laugh for a moment "Things will get interesting while I'm away" Naruto comments as Sasuke raises his fist pointing it at the blonde.

"I'm going over to the Land of Waves, to train with Shisui and Haku after the funeral for lord third" Sasuke says, he needed to train hard to keep up with Naruto and Sakura "So in case I don't see you" he raises his hand "Be safe" he states and Naruto nods shaking his hand.

"You too"

 **_Three day's later_**

The weather had matched the overall atmosphere of the village for the last few days, as two days had been devoted to funerals for the Shinobi and Villagers who died in the assault, Naruto walked through the busy streets of Konoha as Carpenters continued to labour through the rough weather. Naruto looked at his reflection in a shop window; he and Shikamaru had been promoted to Chunin for their showing in the Chunin Exams and following Invasion. He smiled slightly dusting his Jacket off.

"Careful, if I didn't know any better I'd say you were letting your promotion go to your head" he sighs seeing Jiraiya waiting for him with a big silly grin "Hope you packed lots of money to help your Godfather with his research" he grins

"Dirty old pervert" he crosses his arms, as he walks he hears a cough behind him "Jiraiya...wait for me at the gate" he says and the Sannin nods seeing the young girl standing behind the blonde. "I thought you'd been avoiding me" he turns to face Hinata with a smile, since he woke up he had struggled to find Hinata, and every time he did she ran off. Now is seemed she knew he was leaving and wanted to see him off...

"N-Naruto" she says looking shyly around "About what happened that day" she says looking around all embarrassed, Naruto tilts his head slightly "About what was said..." she blushes bright red.

"Huh...did we talk, sorry but I don't remember" Naruto says with a confused expression, Hinata's eyes widen upon hearing this "Everything from that day is fuzzy so I don't remember it in detail" he explains.

"O-Oh" she turns 180 degrees to face away "I-It wasn't important, so if you don't remember then it's...it's" she feels his hand on her shoulder.

"When I get back, I can help you train" her eyes widen again realizing he remembered "Or...we can go on that date, or both" he gives her shoulder a gentle squeeze "I owe you as much of my time as you want" he says letting go "Take care of yourself Hinata" he begins to walk away.

"Goodbye...Naruto"

* * *

 **The End**

* * *

 **And thus the first series of Naruto comes to an end, small moments of NaruHina and SasuSaku, with a tease of ShikaTem (My personal fav). The next chapter will not start with the skip but set up the skip.**

* * *

 **Till Next Time**

* * *

 _ **~DoTheBartMan**_


	10. Chapter 10

**I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR ITS CHARACTERS, I OWN THIS STORY AND ANY CHARACTERS I CREATE.**

* * *

 **Thanks for the reviews**

 **I decided to do a full 4 year time skip instead of the 3 year, mainly to make them seem age appropriate for leading roles in the village.**

* * *

 **Chapter 10: 4 years apart  
** _ **How we've Grown**_

* * *

It had been a long week for Sakura, first Naruto left on his journey with not real indication on how long he'd be. Which was fine, Naruto was always like that and since he got promoted the Chunin he wasn't a kid anymore, had he remained he would be leading squads on difficult missions instead of following Kakashi Sensei. However when she learned Sasuke would be going away for 3 months, "This suck's" she weeps. Perhaps the best thing that came from the invasion was the fact Sasuke acknowledged her, however in doing so Sasuke came to the decision to leave and train with Itachi and Shisui to improve his Sharingan and Jutsu prowess.

 __-Flashback Yesterday evening_-_

 _Standing across from the Hokage always gave Sakura butterflies , despite his gentle and calm exterior Sakura like many others from her age group have grown up on stories of Minato Namikaze "The Yellow Flash" of Konoha. Stories on how he defeated entire squads of Shinobi in a blink of an eye, even to this day his mere presence was enough to keep the thought of war at bay. Orochimaru never truly engaged Minato during his invasion; she had heard how he transported attacks that would have done major damage the village. He was truly something else "Um...you wanted to see me?" she says after a moment of silence._

" _Yes, the Medical Shinobi at the hospital has praised you for your tremendous talent with Medical Ninjutsu" he says and she blushes lightly._

" _Does that mean they will allow me to be an apprentice?" she asks with hopeful eyes, if she could learn from an experienced Medical Shinobi she wouldn't lag behind Naruto and Sasuke._

" _No" Minato says bluntly and she slumps her shoulders "Don't take it as an insult, the current head of the Medial team has told me you wouldn't benefit much by learning from them because your Chakra Control is already higher than most" he explains and she nods "I called you hear because I'll be sending you and Team 8 on a mission lead by Kakashi" he says and she nods "You see a number of Shinobi and villagers have been infected by a powerful snake venom, and our Medics have exhausted all their knowledge trying to cure them" he sighs "Right now the infected are under induced comas and have slowed their heart rate down to slow the poison in their blood stream, this along with constant healing will keep them alive another week, the Shinobi may last longer but this treatment will have lasting effects...if they survive" he says._

" _So...what are we looking for?" Sakura asks curiously, she had seen patients in critical care, however she didn't realise the extent of the problems._

" _The final member of Konoha's legendary Sannin" Minato states "The Slug Princess Tsunade Senju, there is no better Medical Shinobi throughout the Elemental lands, however to simply refer to her as a Medical Shinobi could be considered an insult, she is extremely formidable and the last of her Clan which Lord First was also a member...as well as her grandfather" he says and her eyes widen_

" _Wow...I had no idea someone so strong existed" Sakura comments "Why isn't she in the Village?" she asks and Minato looks away._

" _Let's just say...she needed time away after some bad moments" he states, if Tsunade wanted Sakura to know she'd tell her, no point incurring the wrath of a woman who could punch a mountain to death._

 _-_End-__

So she packed her bag, she wasn't sure why she was going on this mission, Kiba, Hinata and Shino where all expert trackers and apparently in his ANBU day's Kakashi was quite the tracker as well _"Still, maybe I can get some pointers off Tsunade"_ she smiles looking at the picture of her, Sasuke and Naruto along with Kakashi in their team photo. The two male Genin had stoic looks, calm and composed; she was smiling with the enthusiasm that came from being in the same picture as Sasuke.

"So the next stage in our journeys as Shinobi begins" she smiles heading out the door

 **_Sasuke_**

Sasuke was panting heavily; it seemed Shisui was annoyed about not being there for Konoha, and as a result his training intensity reflected his frustration "N-No more, I need a break" the young Uchiha says, laid out on the ground.

"Psh...you'll have your work cut out for you if we keep at this pace" Shisui scoffs crossing his arms _"So many people died and I couldn't do anything to help"_ he thinks sitting down "Still once I feel you are capable I'll leave you in charge while I hunt Orochimaru down"

"My father may have made you head of this branch but remember if you want to go after Orochimaru you'd need the approval of both your commander and The Hokage" Itachi states sitting beside him "Orochimaru has lost the use of his arms and can no longer access many of his Jutsu...finding him will be impossible" he adds.

"Still...It bothers me that I was unable to stop this from getting out of hand" the teleport Shinobi sighs "Yeah I know this job is important too" he adds seeing Itachi give him a look "Though I guess if a peace treaty comes from this between Suna and Konoha I guess it'll mean a really good step towards real lasting peace" he stands up "Come on Sasuke" He say's motioning for Sasuke to stand.

"Yeah, was getting tired of listening to you complaining anyway" Sasuke smirks standing up; he saw the annoyance in the older Uchiha's eyes. _"Naruto will always be Naruto so his strength will continue to grow exponentially...and Sakura is proving herself to be an excellent Medic...so I can't rest on my laurels"_ he thinks, his major goal was simply to study Shisui's movements and make his own fighting style from them, then it was back to Konoha to practise Fire Jutsu from the Uchiha files.

" _Don't wait for me...I'll surpass you both"_

 **_Naruto_**

Sitting across from the Pervy Sannin who was writing material down for his Make out series, Naruto was also writing stuff down, he was planning his first training Routine for tomorrow. "So Naruto, while I'm off doing some...research what will you be doing?" the elder Sannin asks looking up from his notes.

"Well...While you're off being a pervert" he glances at Jiraiya who was pouting "I plan on using my time away from Konoha to perfect the Rasengan with a change in Chakra nature" he says suprising the Sannin, this was something Minato was unable to do, Minato never had the perfect Chakra control to accomplish such a feat. "Then I plan on learning Sage mode" he smirks seeing Jiraiya sigh

"Gamatatsu" they both say simultaneously, "I don't plan to return to Konoha until I've mastered both these goals" Naruto says with determination _"I also plan to learn more about Tailed Beasts and Jinjuriki"_ he thinks

" _Then hopefully I can remove the burden from Mom"_

* * *

 **4 Years Later**

 **/Quick note, their appearances match Shippuden before the war + the Chunin Flak Jacket. Sasuke's Appearance matches his look in "Jiraiya Shinobi Handbook: The Tale of Naruto the Hero" I looked for a description (since I suck at describing clothes) but couldn't find one, if you need a visual just google Sasuke Police Uniform and you should be fine/**

* * *

Minato read though the last letter he received from Naruto

 _The lead I was chasing came up with some good results, I won't go into detail through a letter so I will be returning to the Village within the next month or so, otherwise I am bathing regularly and eating proper meals now that I can cook for myself. Tell Mom I haven't spent any time with girls before she bombards me with questions about my...virtue, I also haven't been corrupted by Pervy-Sage (That will never happen)_

 _From Naruto_

"This was just under 2 months ago" Minato says, he had tried to teleport to Naruto but it seems he had left the Kunai in a hotel within the Land of Wind, he neglected to tell Kushina about how he scared the living hell out of two girls who had rented the room...or the fact they were naked.

"Naruto is fine, knowing him he stopped to do more training" Jiraiya says casually, he left Naruto on his own after 3 years of travelling together, but did keep tabs on him just in case for a little while. Minato couldn't help it; Kushina had been asking him nonstop about Naruto since the last letter came.

"I trust him, I don't trust this world...and I put him on a dangerous mission without even letting him come home first" Minato states looking at the copy of the mission report he gave to Naruto.

"Naruto is a Shinobi before anything else, you are the Hokage" Jiraiya sits on the table "I thought the days of me teaching you were long in the past" he looks over his shoulder with a Smirk

"As long as we live...there are lessons to be learned" Minato states and Jiraiya laughs loudly

"So corny!" he chuckles "My point is you only assigned Naruto this mission after he had decided to stay on his Journey" he stands up "Naruto has grown exponentially strong on his adventure, he's your son alright" he explains.

Minato had wondered how Naruto had progressed; Jiraiya made vague comments like "Writing his name in the History books" while Naruto didn't even mention his training simply how he was and what he was eating.

" _Interesting"_

 **_Kushina and Mikoto_**

"Relax Kushina" Mikoto hushes the red head's worried rant about their son being dead of kidnapped or...married without her knowing "Naruto is a strong level headed young man, like his father" he says "He may share your temper but he is much better at controlling it" she teases and Kushina raises an eyebrow.

"I have a temper? Remember when Itachi proposed to Izumi? Or when" she is cut off by a dangerous aura coming from the Uchiha "A-Anyway this is just a mothers thoughts getting out of hand...I know he's fine I just can't help but worry about him" she says as the two stare out of the entrance to Konoha at the big green gates.

"Well I guess lay those worries to rest" they both turn to see a hooded man dropping the hood revealing the Namikaze trade mark Blonde spiky hair, Naruto's hair had grown out mirroring his father's for the most part with the major difference being that instead of two jaw-length bangs framing his face, Naruto had a single Braided bang held with accessories which hung over the side of a new elastic headband, the braid was decorated with Orange beads, the braid reached just under his chin. His face had become more refined losing a lot of the baby fat in his cheeks and chin giving him a more mature look, his clothes where covered by a long black coat he was wearing an judging by the dirt it hadn't been washed in a long while. His right hand was completely taped up including the fingers; Kushina was able to spot a black arm guard under the robe as Naruto tucked the braid behind his ear.

Looking Naruto up and down seeing his taped up calves, and his black sandals she saw Naruto had grown into a fine young man "NARUTO!" she rushed in and hugged him tightly "I was so worried when you stopped sending letters" she rambles out between tears as Naruto wraps a single arm around his mother.

"I missed you to...mom"

 **_The Hokage Mansion_**

"Naruto" Minato said hugging his son who returned the gesture "You've gotten so much taller" he says with a wondrous tone like he never pictured Naruto being able to look him in the eye "How have you been, what happened to the letter informing us of your impending return? I would have brought all your friends here" he says and Naruto motions form him to sit down.

"I was following a lead on the Akatsuki like you asked" he begins deciding to go into detail "It's like you suspected, they're targeting tailed beasts" he says and Minato nods "However I haven't been able to deduce why" he adds and Minato sighs.

"Don't worry about it Naruto" Minato says showing his son some documents "Using sighting reports I've tried to capture a member alive but they are incredibly elusive" he sits back, he sees Naruto smirk for a moment.

"Well I guess I have a present for you then" he bites his thumb and places his palm on the table " **Kuchiyose no Jutsu!** " and a poof of smoke appears, as the smoke disappears a familiar Gourd Toad is sitting on the table "I didn't have the skill to question him" he says as the toad spits up a man in a Black cloak decorated with red clouds "Meet Jūzō Biwa of the Mist...former Swordsman of the Mist and enforcer of the Akatsuki" the younger blonde lists out as the Akatsuki member was still out cold.

"Amazing Naruto...how did you catch him?" Minato asks curiously examining the man, steady pulse with dilated eyes, clearly trapped in a Genjutsu.

"He stole The Executioners Blade from my hotel room not to long after I started my investigation" Naruto begins "Of course since I had it marked it wasn't like I was worried or anything" he jokes lightly "Still, once I confronted him I heard another member mention this" he raises his left hand showing a ring on his thumb, it had a yellow center and the Kanji for "south" written on it "I feel this ring is more important that anything this guy has to say" he says handing his father the ring "There is a weird Chakra signature attached to it but...that's something Research can look into" he sits back "other than that I can tell you The Akatsuki have successfully obtained three of the tailed beasts, the Five Tails, the Seven Sails and most recently the Four Tales" he lists off "They have 9 members in total now that this guy is in custody...and their main base...somewhere between the Land's of Lightning, Fire and Wind" he shrugs "There was a seal on a cave entrance I couldn't get past because I needed 5 other people" he explains.

"No need to explain anymore, you have given us plenty more Intel on the Akatsuki than Danzo's ANBU have in the 4 years you've been gone" Minato says reaching over and patting his son on the shoulder.

Believing the important business work was over Kushina burst in and practically ripped Naruto's coat off, dying to see his fashion sense, she was surprised to see the most notable change is the custom black Chunin Flak Jacket with the collar exposing the Orange polyester shirt, judging from the sleeves the shirt was slim, hugging his figure under the jacket. He was wearing a necklace with the Leaf symbol as the pendant, his left arm looked pretty bare, he had three bracelets hanging from his wrists with an orange, black, and orange colour scheme. However his right arm was completely covered with bandages, a black forearm pad which looked as if its purpose was to prevent his arm from exploding, around his right sleeve was a black armband with the red Uzumaki crest on it, he wore black pants with an orange band around the right thigh where his weapon's pouch was tie, he wore black sandals and the tape around his calves where exposed as the legs of his pants had rolled up slightly

"Yep my boy knows his fashion" Kushina gives him a thumb up of approval while Naruto mumbled "You ruined my Coat". "So did anything earth shattering happen to you that you kept out of your letters?" she asks holding his shoulders with a look of "TELL ME ALL THE GIRLS YOU'VE BEEN WITH!"

"Yeah...I was thinking of having a party or something so we could all catch up at once to save time" Naruto says, he saw Kushina's eyes flash with excitement.

"Good idea so much has happened so it'll be easier if we all meet up and talk as a big group of family and friends" she says looking at Minato who nods. For the last few months Minato has been very busy, coming home at all hours in the morning, overall not having much time to be the husband he was, which she understood, the relations between Konoha and Suna had improved immensely thanks in large part to the new Kazekage.

"Cool, Dad where are Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura? I want to surprise them" he turns to his father who thinks back to the last mission report he assigned them.

"Well...they should be back from their escort mission sometime today" he states scratching his chin "Normally when Sasuke is in charge they get home quicker since he needs to report to his father" he explains seeing Naruto's confused look "Sasuke is no longer a member of Team 7, he is Sergeant Sasuke Uchiha of the Konoha Police and technically Jonin of the Leaf" he say's and Naruto's eyes widen at how impressive Sasuke's titles are.

"How many of my class are Jonin?" Naruto asks curiously, he wasn't worried about rank since he knew his journey had done the job of getting him to the level he wanted...for now.

"Just him" Minato says suprising his son "The only other Shinobi of your age Group to be promoted is a Hyuga from one of their branch clans, his name is Neji" he explains, while many of his age group were close to obtaining the rank of Jonin they all lacked the specific quality right now. Minato was looking forward to testing Naruto's progression...

That would be for another day of course

* * *

 **The Gate**

* * *

"Come on, stop dragging Kakashi" Sasuke says leading the group of 4 down the path leading to Konoha, now wearing his Police Uniform which was a big contrast to his old style, adjusting the band on his sleeve which symbolised his rank within the Police force he turned to see Sakura close by like always, a former member of Root named Sai who had filled Naruto's place in team 7 and finally dragging his feet Kakashi 'The Copy Nin' Hatake.

"I was wondering when you guys would show up" the gate guard says pointing into the village "You won't believe who came back" he grins seeing their shocked/happy faces light up.

"Talk about spoilers" they all turn to see Naruto waving at them casually "Yo" he gives a small smile, Sasuke was about to walk over and shake his hand however the pink haired Kunoichi had other plans.

"Naruto!" she runs to him hugging him tightly lifting him clean off the ground causing Naruto to look at Sasuke with wide eyes and mouthing 'What the hell happened?' to which Sasuke covers his mouth to hide the chuckle.

"You've been busy Sakura" Naruto says rubbing his chest looking around to make sure no one saw a skinning pink haired girl lift him clean off the ground, "Who is this?" he walks over to Sai.

"My name is Sai, ANBU former Root agent and current member of Team 7" he extends his hand to the blonde who accepts the shake "I read in a book this is common courtesy when meeting a colleague for the first time" he adds and Naruto raises a brow nodding.

"R-Really...uh cool" he says turning to Sasuke and the two fist bump "Congrats are in order, twice...1 for becoming a Jonin and the other for becoming a Sergeant in the Police Force" he states and Sasuke grins "What made you join the Police force?" he asks and Sasuke scratches the back of his head glancing at Sakura

"I-I'll tell you later" Sasuke says and Naruto who saw the glance exchange shrugged and nodded accepting the answer.

"Speaking of Later" Naruto says going into detail about party he was planning...

 **_The Evening party_**

"Congratulations Itachi" Naruto says looking into the crib "She's perfect" he adds and Itachi nods, Naruto was surprised to hear Itachi and Izumi were married, but even more so when he learned they welcomed their first child into the world 2 months ago, Izumi snuggled into her husband as she was simply there to take care of her baby since she was a new mother she had been asking Kushina and Mikoto hundreds of questions.

"Akane Uchiha" Sasuke begins raising a glass "First born of Itachi and Izumi Uchiha, future Clan head" he says and they all raise their glass in toast.

Hearing about what everyone has been up to over the last 4 years was interesting; Shino had taken up time as a teacher at the academy. Kiba's only real boasting came in the form of having a girlfriend, however after learning that the girl in question was a cat enthusiast made Naruto laugh a lot longer than it should have. Hinata had spent the last four years learning about her Clan and the Jutsu related.

Ino and Sai were dating, and had been for a while...their interactions where interesting due to Sai's off beat personality. Choji was stoked about finally becoming Chunin, and Shikamaru had become somewhat of an ambassador for the Leaf when meeting with Suna.

Before Naruto could ask Sasuke and Sakura anything, he was the one being asked a question...

"So Naruto" Kiba begins clearly wanting to get back and Naruto for laughing at him, "I got to know...what's with the braid?" he asks, with his overall style the braid did suit him but he never figured Naruto for an accessory kind of guy.

"Well..." Naruto glances at Hinata who looks away slightly "While I was travelling with Jiraiya...the old perv got into some trouble with this weird Village called 'Nadeshiko Village', where only the Girls were Shinobi" he begins thinking back, Kushina and Tsunade are surprised by the mention of this village since it was hard to find, "Needless to say I got pulled into the problem, this girl named Shizuka had me cornered while this other woman named Tokiwa chased after the idiot who caused all this trouble" he spares a glance at Jiraiya who at this point was sweating so much the people behind him were drowning. "Anyway after I pinned Shizuka down I learned that Nadeshiko village has a very...interesting law" he smirks seeing his travelling companion mouthing "Please no more" at him, clearing his throat "See if the woman is defeated by a man she must bring that man to her village to be her husband" he stops seeing Kushina go full "Tentacle Hair Rage Monster Mode"

"I'll kill you Jiraiya!" she yells chasing the terrified Sanin out of the restaurant as Tsunade followed to enjoy the show.

"So...what happened then?" Sakura asks for Hinata who was still in shock, Sasuke had leaned over Sakura to listen; this story had taken an interesting turn.

"Well as Shizuka explained this to me, I told her I had no interest in the laws of her village, her mentor, who had lost Jiraiya tried to capture me and force me back to their village" he fiddles with the braid "Once I had her beat as well I tied the two up and left... turns out their village specialize in tracking because two weeks later I saw Shizuka again, she tried to convince me to marry her by explaining how she had given up on the idea of Love and that she simply followed the law of her village" he pauses seeing Hinata's sad look "But... I told her that I haven't given up on the idea of Love...which is why I couldn't marry her"

"So romantic" Ino swoons, thankfully covering for Hinata who was blushing feeling Naruto's gaze fall to her for a moment "So...why the braid?" she asks

"It's a promise..." he simply says "The promise is a secret" he adds seeing them all groan in frustration _"A promise to find real Love"_ he thinks looking at Hinata again while everyone's attention was lost in the moment.

"So Naruto" Sai begins with an innocent smile "Did you sleep with her?"

...

While Sai recovered on the ground after the beating Sakura, Kushina and Ino dished on him for spoiling the moment Naruto turned to Sasuke "So Sasuke, why did you join the Konoha Police force...and why does it have to do with Sakura?" he asks bringing up how he looked at her earlier on when questioned.

"Well...we wanted to tell you in private but I guess now is fine" Sasuke says fiddling with the glass for a moment before taking in a deep breath "You see I joined to Police force because..."

"Sakura and I are together"

* * *

 **The End**

* * *

 **Hope you like the part 1 of the time skip, the next chapter will start the Rescue the Kazekage arc but will also cover**

 **Why Sasuke and Sakura dating meant he had to join the Konoha Police force, Neji and Hinata's aggressive training sessions and how Hinata has had a lousy 4 years over all...**

* * *

 **Till Next Time**

* * *

 _ **~DoTheBartMan**_


	11. Chapter 11

**I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR ITS CHARACTERS, I OWN THIS STORY AND ANY CHARACTERS I CREATE.**

* * *

 **Thanks for the reviews**

Questions:

Guest

is naruto kagelevel?

is he stronger than sasuke?

 **A: Naruto is as strong as he was against Pain, so about as strong as a Kage, defo Stronger than Sasuke...for now**

-Question end-

* * *

 **In case people are wondering, Naruto and the others are all 18-19 right now Team Gai are a year older than Naruto and his class because they graduated a year before them.**

* * *

 **Chapter 11: Content Life  
** _ **Art is an Explosion**_

* * *

 __Flashback 2 years ago__

 _Sasuke and Sakura had been dating casually for about 3 months, while it was nothing serious it had still reached his father's ears. Uchiha are very traditional and relationships outside the clan are considered Taboo, when Itachi announced his engagement to Izumi Fugaku had been happy his elder son found a partner within the Uchiha bloodline. Mikoto had managed to talk Fugaku out of confronting Sasuke, however that all changed when the two teens were caught kissing..._

 _Now Sasuke sat in front of his father whose expression was stone faced as always but he knew his father was angry "Itachi will be succeeding me as ahead of the Uchiha clan" was the first words from Fugaku's mouth._

 _Sasuke always expected this day to come, Itachi was destined to lead the Uchiha clan from the moment he was born; it was rare for the first born to be overlooked. Yet hearing the words still hurt...it felt like his father was saying "I'm done with you" or "You aren't needed", Sasuke looked at the floor not wanting to look his father in his eyes "Another thing, I have learned about your relationship with your teammate Sakura Haruno" Sasuke's eyes dart to meet his father gaze "I am sure you know the elders opinion on outsiders" he says and Sasuke nods "Such a relationship will be frowned upon" he says and Sasuke stands up._

" _Who cares? I mean if Itachi is head of the clan then why should it matter who I choose to spend my days with? I won't meekly marry some girl just because she is an Uchiha" Sasuke declares with a challenging look and tone._

 _Fugaku didn't react in the least, standing in the same spot with his arms crossed and his eyes closed "You will resign as a member of team 7 and transfer to the Konoha police" he states and Sasukes eyes widen "Relationships between squad mates will have a negative effect on your training" he begins "While Itachi will be taking on the role of Uchiha Clan head...you will work to be my successor as Commander of Konoha Police Force"_

 _Sasuke stood there in shock, his father had continued talking but everything went silent. His father was acknowledging him for the first time since he first proved his skill with the Uchiha's Fire Style, he wondered why Itachi wasn't taking over but his father neglected to mention._

" _I will support this relationship of yours if you prove to me that it hasn't affected your skill" Fugaku begins "You must rise to the rank of Sergeant within a year or else I will forbid you from being with this girl"_

 _Sasuke was Sergeant within 3 months of the deal being made_

 __END__

Itachi and Izumi had left to tuck Akane into bed, Kushina and Tsunade left in a drunken slur escorted off the premises, Kiba and Shino left feeling the night buzz was coming to an end...Jiraiya never came back after whatever Kushina and Tsunade did to him.

"Sasuke" Sakura leans in kissing his cheek "Me and the girls are going to Ino's, I'll see you tomorrow" she states and Sasuke gives a single nod

"Aa, try not to cause too much trouble" he smiles "Don't need the paperwork" his words cause her to giggle slightly; she is followed by Hinata and Ino.

"Sai you coming or staying?" Ino asks and her boyfriend sits on the opposite side of Naruto answering the question "Try not to say anything inappropriate" she warns glancing at Naruto with a nervous laugh.

"Bye...Naruto" Hinata gives a shy timid wave from her hip and Naruto smiles softly nodding, once the three girls where gone Naruto, Sasuke and Sai moved to a smaller table to make room.

"It was weird for your father to make a deal like that" Naruto comments sipping his drink, he never thought such minor details would cause such a response from the Police Commander.

"At first I thought so too, but now that I've thought about it I understand what my father was doing" Sasuke says looking into his drink "My dad never cared much for tradition but he wanted to make sure I was also honing my abilities and not neglecting my responsibilities as a Shinobi" he states "Plus he has great admiration for Sakura now, ever since she became Tsunade's student" he adds seeing Naruto's surprised face "All in all, I'm content with my life now...Sakura is happy and I'm making my father proud" he takes a drink.

"And are you happy? With Sakura?" Naruto asks and Sasuke smiles

"I am"

...

"Naruto, Ino told me you and Hinata have crushes on each other and are in a relationship" Sai's comment causes both Naruto and Sasuke to choke on their drink "Did I misinterpret?" he asks curiously

"Only a whole lot" Naruto wheezes out "Me and Hinata are...we are..." Naruto looks away unsure what to say "Something..." he says into the glass confusing Sai, "It's hard to tell what our relationship is, I've been gone for a long time...longer than I should have been"

"It seems like you're a just chicken shit and can't confess that you like her" Sai smiles and Sasuke could feel Naruto's patience bar snap.

...

"OK Sasuke who is this asshole?" he looks to the Uchiha with an annoyed tick on his temple, Sai simply laughed off the deadly aura emanating from Naruto.

" _I should have left with Shino and Kiba"_ Sasuke sighs finishing his drink

 **_Hinata, Sakura and Ino_**

"I wonder how long it will take before Sai say's something inappropriate and piss off Naruto" Sakura wonders as Hinata glances at Ino who laughs.

"Second sentence out of his mouth" she and the other girls laugh, "So Hinata...Naruto's grown up well hasn't her?" Ino grins slyly as Hinata blushes madly holding onto the collar of her Flak jacket "Still can't believe he almost got pressured into marriage...imagine that letter to Lady Kushina" she smirks.

"Dear mom and dad, I have been blackmailed into marriage by a village comprised of all women" Sakura begins mimicking Naruto's voice "Sorry to cut this letter of goodbye short but I must have lots of unprotected sex to give birth to the next generation of Nadeshiko Village Shinobi" she pauses

"Three days later in Nadeshiko Village" Ino says as the pink and blonde inhale "Look out its Konoha's Red Hot-Blooded Habanero! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" the two say simultaneously before bursting out laughing at the sight of Kushina kicking down building's in search of her little boy.

"Red Hot-Blooded Habanero huh?" The three girls stop but Sakura and Ino turn completely white at the familiar tone "...you two wouldn't be talking about me?" Kushina asks, though her voice was calm, her enraged face and the fact her hair had become sentient gave the two girls an idea how made she was.

"O-Oh...L-Lady Kushina!" Ino smiles nervously "We were just talking about how good it was catching up with Naruto!" Sakura says with the same nervous laugh.

"Uh huh" Kushina approaches them cracking her knuckles...

"We're sorry! We're sorry!" they panic but pointlessly trying to run away, - **BONK- BONK-**

 **...**

"So Hinata, did you have a nice night" Kushina asks with a sweet smile as a small crowd gathered around the crater in the middle of the road.

"Yes...Naruto seemed more enthusiastic than, when he left" Hinata nods with a smile a dazed Ino and Sakura crawl from the crater "I'm happy he's home though" she adds.

Kushina hugs the girl suprising the Hyuga _"I can't wait to call you daughter!"_ she mentally squeals before taking her leave

"W-What was that about?" Sakura and Ino wonder...

* * *

 **The Following Morning**

* * *

Naruto woke up looking like a guy who walked through a forest lying on his face, while he had drank before he didn't expect to be feeling this bad _"How did I get home"_ he wonders, seeing as it was early he simply put on some pants before walking into the kitchen to have some cereal.

"M-Morning...Naruto" his eyes widen when he hears Hinata's voice all out to him, "Coffee?" she asks and he nods slowly clearly confused.

"Good you're up" he hears his father call to him as he is suddenly dragged to the front door "Let's go for a walk" Minato says with a dangerous looking smile.

All eyes turn to the Hokage monument, written in white, blue and red paint across the Hokage faces "WE ARE TEAM 7!" "INO IS MY BAE" and "I ALMOST GOT MARRIED"...and just like that everything returned to Naruto from last night, drinking till the restaurant closed, buying paint...getting sick in a bush.

"Oh. My. God" he hears Kushina say looking around the side of the house "How did you get vomit up there?"Naruto was still racking his brain trying to remember getting home.

"Hinata found you and your fellow drunken comrades sitting in an alley whistling into empty bottles" Minato says as the Hyuga walks from the house "It was so late I told her she could sleep in the quest room" he explains her presence there.

"I don't remember doing any of this" he laughs a little "How did I get undressed?" he asks "Did someone..." he looks at his dad who smirks himself

"No you did that yourself...for about 20 minutes...it the bathroom" Minato says and Hinata blushes slightly "Get dressed and escort Hinata home...then round up Sai and Sasuke to clean up the Hokage Faces" he instructs and Naruto nods beginning to walk away "Get dressed first Naruto" Minato sighs as Naruto does a 180 back into the house.

Once they were alone Naruto and Hinata walk side by side "Thanks...for last night, and sorry for letting you see me in that state" he says and she shakes her head.

"Its fine, I'm glad you were able to unwind after such a long absence" she says and Naruto smiles "I was also glad to see you had an interesting journey" she adds and he can pick up by her tone what she was referring to.

"Yeah, it was nuts for a time" he states "I did miss you...all I missed everyone" he quickly corrects himself "Anything new happening with you?" he asks to change the subject. He notices a quick flash of sadness in her eyes before she smiles.

"Nothing really, I got promoted to Chunin and have had plenty of successful missions" she says and he pats her shoulders "Did your dad mention anything about being promoted to Jonin?"

"No...And after last night it may be awhile before I do" he laughs and Hinata smiles, she was glad Naruto no longer seemed bitter towards his dad. They reach the door to the Hyuga Compound, Hinata's eyes widen when she see's Neji her cousin and her father Hiashi standing outside waiting for her.

"Hinata where were you last night? And who is the boy?" Hiashi asks and Naruto steps forward to meeting mans gaze.

"My name is Naruto Namikaze Lord Hiashi" Naruto bows respectfully thus missing the Hyuga leaders surprised look "I recently returned home from a long mission and made a fool of myself by getting drunk, your daughter helped get me home so my father let her sleep in the guest room since it was so late" he explains and the man seems to nod.

"Thank you for bringing her home Lord Naruto" Hiashi bows slightly, Naruto thanks Hinata one more time before saying his goodbyes "I didn't know you were on such friendly terms with the son of the Yondaime" her father says and Hinata fails to respond "You're training has waited long enough, Neji also is a Shinobi of this village so remember to be respectful to his time as well" he says before leaving

"Shall we get started...Lady Hinata" Neji's cold tone calls out as they head towards the training field

* * *

 **The Hokage Mountain**

* * *

Sasuke, Sai and Naruto where hanging from ropes cleaning the Graffiti off of Konoha's monument, "I didn't even do any of this" Sasuke growls angrily, while he did need to return to the Restaurant to pick up his Flak Jacket, his wallet and...His shoes however he did not vandalise the Hokage Mountain but Sai and Naruto were convincing in their lie to tie him into helping. "What kind of paint did you use?" he asks pressing the wet cloth harder against the rock.

"Uh...I dunno...Gloss I think" Naruto shrugs, using his water based Chakra to loosen the paint before scrubbing the paint away...much to the annoyance of Sasuke, it took a lot of concentration to use his Chakra in such a way it so it wouldn't damage the rock. "I've been meaning to ask...why Hinata is in pain all the time?" he asks and the two exchange a look.

"We've only heard rumours, apparently Neji has been training her" Sasuke begins "Neji was on a mission away from the village before you left so you never met him, but he and Hinata are second cousins from their fathers, although Neji is a branch member" he states "Anyway I don't know if Lord Hiashi is aware or not but Neji is aggressive towards her during their training time...and Hinata is badly bruised as a result of it, Sakura has been treating her wounds in private...which is why I think her father is unaware"

"Why keep it a secret?" Naruto asks and Sasuke shrugs, he had ideas but nothing that wasn't obvious already.

"I've heard Hinata has been overlooked as the next leader of their clan in favour of her younger sister Hanabi who is a prodigy" Sai says suprising them both "I overheard two Hyuga who were patrolling the borders that Lord Hiashi has been disappointed with Hinata's progression and feels Hanabi would make a successful heir over her older sister" he states and Naruto cuts himself free and jumps a great distance after using the mountain as an aid to assist in his jump

"Oi Naruto!" Sasuke yells to no avail...

Naruto ran from roof top to roof top, he had heard Hiashi comment on her training _"I better hurry!"_

* * *

 **The Hyuga Compound**

* * *

Her breathing was heavy; Neji knew how to hurt her without doing serious damage. He blamed her for the death of his father, she was useless and end up getting captured and as a result his father died to prevent war.

"Come on Lady Hinata" Neji said he took up the gentle fist style of offence and prepared to lunge at her, she raised her arms weakly to defend herself. He smirked as he jumped in for the kill, she managed to block two but the third palm hit her shoulder causing intense pain, he landed a hit to her thigh causing her to fall to a knee. Before his final attack hit her head which would have done lasting damage his wrist was caught in the grip of Naruto.

"A little aggressive for training...don't you think?" he asks as Neji glances at him coldly, "How did you get in without permission?" Naruto smirks at the brunette's question "The guys out front are napping right now"

" _He floored two Hyuga in the blink of an eye without making a noise?"_ Neji thinks as he tries to pull his wrist free, but fails as Naruto's grip tightens.

"I don't tolerate bullies" was all the warning Neji got before he was yanked forward into Naruto's waiting elbow, before the blond planted a low kick into Neji's stomach which sent him into the far away wall "Hinata, why are you pushing yourself so hard?" he asks

"B-Because...you're so strong" was all she could muster as her father arrived seeing the carnage

"Lord Naruto what is the meaning!" he pauses seeing the cold look in Naruto's eyes that sent a shiver down his spine, he saw the welts and bruises on Hinata's arms and sighed looking at Neji. "Hinata the decision has already been made, Hanabi will succeed me as Hyuga Clan leader" he says and she looks down saddened.

Naruto was about to aggressively give the older man a piece of his mind but Hinata held his wrist as she stood up using him for support "I'm not doing this for you...or the clan, I'm doing this for me...I want to be strong for the people I care about, not to appease you and the elders...I don't want to lead a clan like ours, I want to start a family of my own...full of love and support" she glares at him "Something I've never gotten here" where her last words before succumbing to the pain and blacking out.

"I know what you must think of me Naruto, however I chose Hanabi because I am aware Hinata's heart already belongs else ware" the elder Hyuga says suprising Naruto "Look out for her..." he adds as Naruto hoists her onto his back to carry her to the hospital.

"You don't need to ask" Naruto states heading out of the compound missing Hiashi genuine smile...

" _Naruto...I know you will give her the love she deserves, and hopefully it will counter all the loneliness I have forced on her"_ he thinks looking at Neji.

After an hour Neji wakes up and see's Hiashi sitting beside him "Neji...It's time we talked about your father and how he...really died" he says pulling out a sealed scroll

 **_Sasuke and Sakura_**

Sasuke sat on a bench reading a strategy guide, Sakura slumped beside him with a giddy look on her face "I had an incredible experience today" she smiles and he turns the page on his book.

"What happened?" he asks casually, he assumed it had something to do with the hospital since she was volunteering there again.

"I helped in the birth of twins!" she says and he looks at her "I was only a stand in when Izumi gave birth and only really stood at the side an observed" she explains, Tsunade brought her in to show her how Medical Ninjutsu was used in the birthing process, so she never took in the emotion of the moment until she held Akane the following day. "The mother to be was struggling with the second baby, and her husband was an emotion filled wreck and no help at all, everything looked tense" she pauses looking up. Sasuke had put his book down and listened intently to his girlfriend tell her story "Then all pain vanished when the little boy began crying in my arms... the baby was strong and healthy, I could tell just by looking at him" she smiles as Sasuke wraps his arm around her shoulder

"You did well" he says and she rests her head on his chest "So, what were there names?" he asks curiously.

"The girl was Hiro, and the boy was Sora" she smiles happily "I could tell Hiro was going to be this quiet book worm while Sora would be the cool mysterious type with a bunch of fan girls, like you used to have" she comments

"Used to have? You mean I don't anymore? Wow this relationship keeps getting better" his little joke earned him a giggle and a jab **(Or a normal mans punch)** "Want to go get something to eat to celebrate your first delivery?" he asks and her eyes sparkle

"You mean like a... date?"

"Yeah a date"

 **_A little while after the Hyuga Compound_**

Hinata awoke to find herself being piggybacked by Naruto, she didn't say anything but the subtle squeeze from her hand's gave her away "I was wondering when you'd wake up" he says with a soft tone.

"I made a fool of myself" she says burying her face into his back "How will I look my father in the eyes?" she asks and Naruto ponders what words would best help her but decided to just be honest.

"You spoke from your heart" he says simply "I figured you were the type to silently obey your parent regardless of your own feelings on the matter" he states looking up "Neji was angry at your father, his actions were deplorable but I can't imagine how he feels...he felt like a slave to a clan that let his father die in place of someone more important, and now he had no way to get closure because as a branch clan member, he is expected to simply fall in line" he sighs "Hopefully you and he can bounce back from this...you are family after all" he says and she nods.

"You've changed" she says and he looks confused "You used to walk around like a brat who walked around with a chip on his shoulder...but now you give off this calming aura, and your smiling most of the time" she says and he grins a little.

"Yeah, a long time ago while me and my dad where training I got hurt...badly, leading up to the injury I thought my dad was showing me how to become strong like him...then after the accident I felt like he was teaching me weak stuff to keep me from getting stronger than him, I was a kid and I got hurt, then I got better but as a kid I couldn't understand my parents feelings and just thought they were doing it to annoy me or hold me back" he laughs a little thinking back to those days. "Show's how strong my parents are, putting up with a little shit like me and not a single gray hair in sight" he jokes.

"Maybe they dye their hair?" she smiles and he, caught completely off guard he begins laughing hysterically startling villagers around them.

"Awesome" was all Naruto said as they walked towards the hospital "You know Hinata..." he blushes a little as he feels her tilt her head a little "I also...want to start a family...full of love and support" he mumbles slightly but she blushes burying her head into his back.

"I-It would be nice"

 **_The Following Morning at the Hokage Office_**

"This is a strange request Hiashi" Minato says looking at the Hyuga leader "Why do you want to do this?" he asks

"Hinata won't improve anymore" Hiashi says "I want what's best for her and...I believe this is it" he adds.

Before Minato can respond Shizune bursts in startling them both... "Shizune I'm in a meeting with" he pauses seeing the crest of Suna on the scroll she was holding.

"The Kazekage has been kidnapped!"

* * *

 **The End**

* * *

 **Hope you liked this chapter, in the next the trip to Suna begins. Who will be on this team? What did Hiashi ask Minato to improve? Will Naruto Sasuke and Sai be allowed to go drinking together again?**

* * *

 **Till Next Time**

* * *

 _ **~DoTheBartMan**_


	12. Chapter 12

**I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR ITS CHARACTERS, I OWN THIS STORY AND ANY CHARACTERS I CREATE.**

* * *

 **Thanks for the reviews, sorry for the delay!**

* * *

 **Chapter 12: Rescue the Kazekage  
** _ **The Future**_

* * *

Naruto stood in the office, he along Sakura and Kiba were summoned for this mission "The Akatsuki...who are they?" Kiba asks and Sakura also wanted to know. She had heard Sasuke mention the name but refused to tell her anything.

"Naruto has been tracking them for the better part of a year, he can fill you in on the way" Minato says and Kiba nods "Naruto you'll be leading this small three man squad as you will need to move fast" he says and Naruto nods "There is another team in the region passing between the nations and I have already sent word to them to rendezvous at Suna" he adds and Naruto nods again "Rescuing the Kazekage is top priority, only take out the Akatsuki members if the opportunity presents itself" he states and the three nod "Head out as fast as possible" he says clearly not wanting to waste time with semantics.

 **_Outside the village_**

Naruto, Sakura and Kiba rendezvoused at the big green gate. With no time to say goodbye to anyone they began their 3 day journey to Suna, there had been talk about building a direct link to make travelling to and from the villages easier but as of now nothing.

"So Naruto" Sakura begins as the travel from tree to tree at a fast pace "What do you know about the Akatsuki?" she asks and Naruto looks ahead.

"They are a terrorist organization comprised of S Rank Missing-Nin from Hidden Villages across the lands" Naruto begins "They used to perform jobs for Villages that the Villages wanted to keep under radar, Suna has been accused of using them during the invasion 4 years ago" he pauses remembering the dead.

"Why would they be blamed? I mean it was all Orochimaru" Kiba states, Minato made sure every Shinobi knew the truth to honour those that died in the attack, including The Third Hokage.

"At that time Orochimaru was a member of the Organization" Naruto says suprising them "The other Kage believe that Suna was responsible for the whole thing and merely used Orochimaru because of his ties with Konoha" the blonde explains, he had heard trading routes to Suna from the other Element Lands had shut down after the attack severely damaging the economy of the village.

"So why take the Kazekage?" Sakura asks the question Naruto was waiting for; he wondered how he would explain it since it was clear they didn't know about Jinjuriki.

"Do you know about the Tailed beasts?" Naruto asks and they nod but clearly they didn't know a lot "Well the Tailed beasts are monstrous amount of Chakra, some believe they are linked to the creation of Chakra itself" Naruto begins to explain anyway "there are 9 in total and their power level is shown by the number of tails the monster has from 1 to 9" he pauses "It's said that the First Hokage had several of the tailed beasts in his possession at the time and used them as a means of peace between the villages" he pauses once again to stop for the other two who needed a break "These Tailed beasts are sealed within human hosts known as Jinchuriki, the villages hope this will turn the beasts into a military asset...of course the Tailed beasts have no interest and likely don't trust Human after years of denying them their freedom" he finishes

"So the Akatsuki are looking to use the tailed beasts as a military weapon as well?" Sakura asks curiously.

"That is the question of the hour" they halt recognising the new voice, "Kakashi-Sensei" both Naruto and Sakura state together with shock. "Yondaime sent us a message saying we'd meet up with you on the way to Suna but we figured it would be best to wait for you" Kakashi explains as his team comes into view "Naruto, this is Rock Lee and Tenten" he says and Naruto shakes their hands.

"What an exciting occasion... to rescue to Kazekage with the son of the Hokage! Gai-Sensei I will make you proud!" Lee exclaims with tears of joy.

"Don't mind him Lord Naruto...Lee is just a bit eccentric" Tenten says with a sigh, she had to admit...Naruto was extremely attractive and even gave Neji and Sasuke a run for their money.

"Just Naruto Tenten" the Blonde says with a smile "Friends don't need to add the 'Lord' only people I want to annoy" he jokes and she nods "So if you guys are rested up we can head towards Suna...we'll need to move fast if we want to beat the sandstorm" he explains and the group nod in agreement and they set off at a fast pace.

 **_Konoha_**

"You want me to go to Suna too?" Sasuke inquires as Fugaku hands him a report, "...Yura, a Suna advisor" he reads down the document.

"This man is the reason the Akatsuki were able to enter Suna undetected...he was a sleeper this whole time" Fugaku explains and Sasuke nods "However now he has disappeared and you need to find him and his accomplices" he begins the mission brief "However the elders of Suna want this done in secret so not to spread throughout the village" he explains. Sasuke was aware of the number of attempts on Gaara's life at the hands of the forth Kazekage, and not everyone was happy with his appointment as Fifth Kazekage.

"Who can I bring?" Sasuke asks and since Fugaku doesn't reply "Solo mission...I understand" Sasuke states and the Uchiha clan head nods "Then I'll pack and head to Suna Immediately"

"In the mean time I will need to have a private conversation with the Hokage about our own villages' security

"Well I'll contact you when I get there"

* * *

 **_In an Unknown Location_**

* * *

"It's taken 4 years to get all our pieces in place" Deidara comments flying low on a clay bird beside his teammate, inside the bird was the unconscious Kazekage whom the blonde fought and defeated. "With this our movements will become restricted...was attacking a Kage the wisest Start?"

"When we captured the 5 tails, the statue almost rejected the chakra...according to the leader anyway" Sasori states "Regardless of their statures we must collect Jinchuriki from the number of their Tailed Beasts" he scoffs "It would be easier to simply catch them all and seal them together"

"Relax Sasori my man" Deidara says in a relaxed manner "My art will defeat all the Jinchuriki we face"

 **_Cafe on Route to Suna_**

"This Cafe is really nice and relaxing" Temari says sipping her tea, across from her the annoyed Shikamaru sighs "Hey I didn't tell you to come back to Suna with me" she teases

"Why did I have to pay for YOUR tea?" Shikamaru asks sipping his own beverage, working with Temari on the Chunin Exams had been tiresome, and now that she was heading home he needed to get the final listings for entrants from her brother.

"Because you're a gentleman" she grins happily

"Since when?" he questions with a sigh

"Since now" she replies sweetly

"Troublesome woman" he sighs again

Not soon after they began their final stretch to Suna, the cafe was the last shred of life between the two villages. Although ideas for a road way were being discussed between the two Kage, there have even been whispers of a form of transport that would connect the two villages...a train.

"You act bored but I know you like being alone with me" Temari says slyly and Shikamaru raises an eye brow.

"What gives you that impression?" he asks curiously, she wasn't a hundred percent wrong but he wasn't about to tell her that

"Well the Hokage only asked for you to escort me to the gate, but you decided to go and get the sheet's of our competing Genin a full month before you need to" she smirks as he looks away with a blush.

"I figured I might as well get them now, Lord Kazekage likely has them finished, this way I get to enjoy the way BACK more without you" he expertly lied, she glares slightly tempted to smack him upside the head, however they are soon surrounded by Naruto and the others, "W-What are you guys doing here?" the Nara asks, his face gets serious seeing Naruto's expression.

"It's Gaara...he's been kidnapped"

Those words made Temari's world freeze

* * *

 **Two days later**

* * *

They arrived in Suna to learn Kankuro had been poisoned badly in an attempt to rescue Gaara; Lady Chiyo an elder of Suna was unable to cure him. Luckily Sakura was able to use her years of tutelage under the famous Sanin Tsunade to good use and quickly saved Kankuro's life.

Much to their surprise, Sasuke was already within the village investigating the invasion. Using his Eagle Summon he flew over them and arrived two days earlier. "So basically, Gaara fought with a blonde haired Shinobi from Iwa" the Uchiha states "If I had to guess it would be Deidara from the description the villagers gave me" he says talking to Naruto and Kakashi alone, the others were either off surveying the village for clues, or resting from the trip.

"I've heard about him...he uses some kind of detonating clay in his Jutsu" Kakashi comments scratching his chin "Kankuro said the one he faced was Sasori...a puppet user from this village" he sighs at the troublesome foes before them.

"Have the elders said anything?" Naruto asks as he spotted an annoyed flicker in Sasuke's eyes "What?"

"They don't want Gaara to be found...it seems they see this as a blessing in disguise" the Uchiha's words shock the room, Kankuro immediately had to be restrained by the Doctors while Shikamaru held Temari's hand.

"After all he did for this village? They'd still discard him without a shred of care?" Kankuro growls, Gaara has fought hard over the past four years to earn the support and admiration of the Shinobi and Villagers but the Elders still despise him.

"It's irrelevant what they want, the mission is to rescue The Kazekage...and I don't plan on failing" Naruto says with crossed arms, the room smiles at this statement "Either way we won't be able to act until the Sandstorm passes...so we should rest and we will chase the Akatsuki down tomorrow"

Naruto stood outside, he watched Sakura and Sasuke sneak into the same room while Kakashi, Tenten and Lee walked off to their own rooms, Kiba mentioned about looking to find a cute girl to get with...or something. Kankuro had fallen asleep, and Temari and Shikamaru where in the room talking.

" _Everyone is growing up, Sasuke and Sakura are pretty serious...I had no Idea Shikamaru and Temari were a couple...Kiba is a player or well at least he seems to think so"_ he smiles thinking about Hinata back home _"Hmm...Maybe I'm a little more mature as well"_

"Um are you Naruto Uzumaki?" he snaps out of his thoughts hearing his name being called, he looks down and see's a young woman not much younger than him with brown hair "My name is Matsuri...Gaara's girlfriend"

He kept a straight face but inside his mind _"Even Gaara got a girlfriend before me?!"_ he nods to allow the girl to keep talking.

"Before that I was his first student..." she looks away and Naruto smiles "Gaara isn't perfect but...he's the best thing to happen to this village in a very long time" she states suprising him "With respect to Gaara's father the Fourth Kazekage...by the end of his time as a Kage all the Shinobi were tense, but Gaara changed everything...he's inspired the next generation of Shinobi and made our Village feel true peace" she lists off everything Gaara has accomplished as a Kage "If we lose him then everything will become the same as before...please!" she bows "Save him"

"I will"

 **_Sasuke and Sakura_**

"I missed not sleeping next to you" Sasuke says taking in her fresh scent, she had just finished showering to get the grime from the journey and the sweat from the surgery off her.

"It's only been a few days Sasuke" she laughs softy placing her palm on his chest, she sighed at his corny "It felt like a year" line but blushed none the less. They hadn't gone all the way and promised to wait until they got married to do so, so their parent's didn't mind _them_ sharing a bed.

"Is it bad that I'm happy right now...despite the situation?" she asks and he pets her head "I mean Gaara may not be among our closest friends but he is a good person who could be dead for all we know" she states and he kisses her forehead.

"If we allow ourselves to succumb to the grieve of phantom possibilities then we'd never enjoy moments like this" he says and she looks at him "Even if they have Gaara...I doubt the extraction of a Tailed Beast is a simple matter, if it was then they wouldn't have needed to take him else were to do it" he clarifies "The likelihood of them being caught within the Sandstorm also diminishes the odds of them being at their target location" he adds

"I know, but still, this village can't catch a break"

* * *

 **The Following Morning**

* * *

Naruto, Kiba and Sakura set off first. Kakashi and his team chose to Assist Sasuke in his search for the missing Suna councillor, however Kakashi used his Ninja Hound Summons's to help track Sasori down. "The Elders tried to delay us" Sakura says with an angered expression, "And preventing Suna Shinobi from searching for their missing Kage with border patrol out of fear of an invasion...so weak" she scoffs.

"Perhaps this is a sign that Elders from villages are a relic of the past" Naruto states and Kiba increases his speed to match the blonde.

"What do you mean" the Dog Nin asks...

"Back during the Chunin Exams when Suna and the Sound attacked Danzo tried to bait me into killing Gaara then to weaken Suna's Military power" he begins "At first I expected to find a heartless monster...so I had no problem killing him" he shakes his head "But what I saw was a kid my own age who had this thing sealed inside him and was brought up with the sole purpose of being an asset in a potential war" he pauses a moment "And I was close to killing him...then he asked what was wrong with wanting to be loved...what kind of a life does someone have to go through to utter those words when you believe you were about to die..." he sees a figure a head, it was the old woman he saw first argue with Sakura over treating Kankuro...before attacking Kakashi believing him to be his father.

"Took your time getting here" she says with a slight tease.

"Thanks to the elders of your village...Gaara has been working hard to change the village and old fossils want him dead because of it" Naruto retorts, he was amazed at the lengths the village would go to delay them.

"The village needs to stand on its own...this alliance has made Suna look weak in the eyes of the other villages" she states bitterly, she lost her son and Daughter in law to Konoha, and now she's been told they need help to find the Kazekage.

"The villages had stood on their own long enough...and it's caused 3 great wars" Naruto states suprising her "Now is the time for the villages to stand together ...Children don't need war heroes...they need parents to raise them" he adds thinking about how Kakashi's father died and how it affected his teacher...he didn't realise his words hit Chiyo hard too.

"...I will assist you in finding young Gaara" she says suprising the three, Sasori learned everything he knows about puppets from me...I am the only one who can defeat him" she explains.

"Can you keep up?" Kiba asks and the old woman laughs before running on ahead.

"I should ask you three that!" she says as the three Konoha Shinobi give chase

 **_Kakashi and the others_**

They stood in front of the remains of Yura...he had been used as a sacrifice in a Shape shifting technique to make Kisame, "That's what loyalty to the Akatsuki will get you" Kakashi says looking at Sasuke who had his arms crossed "What are you thinking about?".

"I don't like the idea of Sakura running into a guy like this Kisame" The Uchiha says, while he was supposed to go back and file his report "I'll be joining you on this mission...I need to learn more about this Akatsuki faction" he says and Kakashi smiles under his mask

"Can't admit to being a protective boyfriend out loud...huh Sasuke?" Kakashi says and Sasuke blushes lightly.

"J-Just lead the way"

 **_Naruto and the others_**

They had arrived at the location were Sasori's trail led...a sealed cave with a tag on the front of the boulder "I know this...there are four locations with the same mark that need to be removed at the same time" Chiyo explains.

"Unless you know the formula" Naruto replies, he walks up to the seal and forms the necessary Hand Seals "Release!" he presses his palm onto the paper which causes it to turn blank, he needed to thank his mother for having the formula for this seal. "Sakura...your turn" he jumps down as Sakura puts on her gloves before charging at the boulder.

"Cha!" she smashes the rock with a single punch, Naruto was surprised as he expected her to take more than a single punch.

" _Best not piss her off"_ he thinks as they jump into the cave, Gaara's body fell to the floor with a thud "It seems we just made it" the blonde says as 7 holograms vanish leaving Deidara and Sasori alone.

"Another 30 minutes and we would have been finished" Deidara curses as he creates a Clay Bird which scoops up Gaara "Divide and Conquer Sasori" he says flying out.

"Damn fool" Sasori grumbles as his eyes focus on Chiyo "You're still alive I see" he states coldly

"Well I wanted to see the face of my Grandson one last time" she says turning to Naruto and Kiba "You two get the other one...if the Tailed beast hasn't been fully extracted yet the Gaara is still alive" he says and the two now "Sakura...I'll need your help with him" she says and the Pink haired nods

"Count on it"

Outside Naruto and Kiba gave chase "Kiba I need you to find Kakashi and Sasuke" Naruto says and Kiba looks at him saying "What for?" so the blonde points to the Clay bird "He used an Earth based Hand Seal to

* * *

create that...which means he has an Earth chakra affinity...Kakashi and Sasuke have lightning Jutsu like me so we can box him in" he explains removing his armband "use this to find your way back to me" he adds and Kiba nods taking the fabric before rushing off in the direction of Kakashi and Sasuke who weren't far.

"Think you can take me alone? Hmm" Deidara calls down to him _"Still...He saw my weaving in such a dark cave...not good"_ he thinks

"I guess we'll see" Naruto says throwing Lightning enhanced Kunai towards the Akatsuki member who flies up to avoid them.

The chase was on

 **_Konoha_**

Hinata was surprised to say the least; she was walking down the street holding a suitcase still gobsmacked about the situation at hand. She never expected something like to happen in a million years, and she wasn't ready when her father told her the news. _"What does this mean for me and Naruto?"_ she closes her eyes as she stops at the door in front of her. Inhaling deeply she knocks...

Inside there is a loud thump as someone approaches the door the door opens "You're early"...

"Welcome to your new home"

* * *

 **The End**

* * *

 **And so the battle lines have been drawn, Naruto will face Deidara. Sakura and Chiyo will face Sasori, and who is welcoming Hinata home? All this in the next chapter**

* * *

 **Till Next Time**

* * *

 _ **~DoTheBartMan**_


End file.
